Woman sues former Kansas police officer accused of groping her during arrest
A Missouri woman is suing a former northeast Kansas police officer who pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery following allegations that he groped her during an arrest.
The woman has filed a lawsuit against former Elwood officer Aaron Newberry and the city of Elwood, accusing them of negligent infliction of emotional distress.
“As a direct and proximate result of Newberry’s unlawful conduct, (the victim) has suffered and continues to suffer mental anguish, emotional distress, sadness, anxiety, anger, depression, frustration, sleeplessness, nightmares, and other problems,” the lawsuit, filed July 6 in the District Court of Kansas, reads.
“These conditions have impacted her relationships with friends and family and have caused her to develop a sense of vulnerability in ordinary situations,” the document continues.
About two years ago, on July 20, 2018, the victim, 20 at the time, was at a gathering at a friend’s house in Elwood.
She and others were standing in the yard when Newberry, who was in uniform and on-duty at the time, walked up to the residence and and “ordered everyone to spread out and sit down on the grass,” according to the lawsuit.
He then asked if anyone had marijuana. When no one answered, he threatened to bring a canine unit in to search them, court records read.
The woman then said she had a very small amount of marijuana in her backpack. She handed the drugs and her ID to Newberry when asked, according to the suit. Newberry then handcuffed her and ordered her not to talk to anyone because she was under arrest.
After a second officer arrived, Newberry told the woman he was taking her to the Doniphan County Sheriff’s Office to book her in jail.
He locked the handcuffs more tightly around her wrist, placed her in the front passenger seat of the police car and buckled her in, according to the suit.
As they began to drive away, the woman, “frightened by Newberry’s intimidating size and demeanor, “ started crying, the lawsuit reads.
Newberry asked why she was crying. She said she was scared.
He replied, “not all cops are bad,” according to the court filing.
Newberry said he was proud of her for coming forward about the marijuana, the suit reads. He later called her a “beautiful girl.”
When she said she didn’t want any criminal record because she hoped to join the military, Newberry told her that charges often get dropped.
As he kept driving, Newberry looked at the woman’s breasts and asked, “so, are those real or are they fake?” according to the lawsuit. When she didn’t reply, he put his right hand into her shirt and groped her.
“Feeling grossly violated, but defenseless due to the handcuffs and seat restraint, (the victim) pleaded with him to ‘please stop doing that,’” the lawsuit reads.
She twice made this plea.
“I just wanted to know if they’re real or fake,” he told her, according to the court filing.
When they arrived at the sheriff’s office, the woman told a deputy on duty what happened.
Newberry was arrested the next day and charged with aggravated sexual battery and mistreatment of a confined person, according to the lawsuit. He was also fired from the department.
In March 2019, Newberry pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery and is now listed as a registered sex offender.
The woman is asking for compensation for financial relief from court costs and other damages. No court date has been set yet.
Newberry, an attorney for the city of Elwood, and the attorneys for the plaintiff could not immediately be reached for comment.
This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 2:28 PM.
