SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A woman is suing Archbishop Moeller High School, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and her former supervisor after she claims she dealt with a hostile work environment after reporting her supervisor for sexual harassment.
In a lawsuit filed Friday afternoon, the woman — identified only as Jane Doe — said her former supervisor sexually harassed her multiple times between 2016 and 2021. She said the supervisor, who is no longer at the school, would often comment on her clothing or appearance and touch or hug her inappropriately.
At one point, she claims her former supervisor trapped her in an office, kissing and groping her. Months later, she said he once again trapped her on campus — this time raping her.
The lawsuit says the woman told the school's administrators multiple times that "she was not safe as long as she was working for" her supervisor, but officials took no action.
Weeks after the assault, the woman claims she was able to record a conversation with her supervisor in which he admitted to the assault. The lawsuit says the woman's legal counsel presented Moeller's administrators with a formal written complaint of her supervisor's conduct and the school was "finally forced to take action."
The woman said Moeller's administrators "expressed their support" for her immediately following the meeting, but "this support quickly crumbles."
The lawsuit claims the school "engaged in a course of conduct that fostered a working environment that was impossible for (her) to endure" in retaliation. She said she was forced to complete not only her duties, but her then-fired supervisor's duties as well. The woman said she also requested accommodations after she was diagnosed with PTSD following the assault, but Moeller refused all accommodations.
"Instead, Moeller consistently acted in a way that created a work environment so hostile that Mrs. Doe was unable to perform her job," the lawsuit says.
The woman says she was "constructively" terminated in 2021.
The lawsuit seeking punitive damages claims the woman was subjected to unlawful discriminatory practices due to her sex, and as a result, was caused emotional distress and mental anguish.
WCPO reached out to both Moeller High School and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, whose director of media relations said in a statement: "On behalf of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and Moeller High School, we are unable to comment on active litigation."
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