Federal lawsuit filed against City of Travelers Rest, officer over sexual assault case
A federal lawsuit has been filed against the City of Travelers Rest after a former police officer was charged with criminal sexual conduct and misconduct in office earlier this year.
The officer, Gerard James Hildebrandt, 43, was charged by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in April for an alleged sexual assault that occurred at Travelers Rest High School. Hildebrandt was on duty at the time of the incident, warrants say.
The civil lawsuit, filed Tuesday against Hildebrandt and the City of Travelers Rest by Strom Law Firm based in Columbia, claims the unnamed Plaintiff’s constitutional protections from excessive force and unreasonable search a seizure were violated as a result of the assault.
According to the lawsuit, on June 3, 2022, the Plaintiff was involved a verbal dispute with her boyfriend who then called the police. Hildebrandt responded to the residence and told the plaintiff if she didn’t do what he said, he would take her to jail.
Previous reporting: Former Travelers Rest officer accused of sexual assault denied bond reduction
The complaint also claims the incident is indicative of widespread issues at the Travelers Rest Police Department and failures to adequately hire and vet new officers.
According to the lawsuit, Hildebrandt persuaded the Plaintiff to drive to an abandoned area “to sober up” to avoid being charged for driving under the influence. He then took her to a secluded area at Travelers Rest High School and proceed to forcefully remove her clothes and perform non-consensual oral sex on her, the complaint says.
According to termination documents reviewed from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, Hildebrandt admitted to having oral sex on duty but claimed the sex was consensual.
The lawsuit claims the Plaintiff was left with bruises “from her collarbone to her toes” and now suffers mental and emotional trauma, including a fear of law enforcement.
According to the lawsuit and CJA files, Hildebrandt was previously employed at Laurens County Sheriff’s Office where he was terminated in August 2021 for an excessive use of force violation. Documents from CJA state Hildebrandt “grabbed the neck of an arrested individual that was handcuffed behind his back with an open hand obstructing the individual’s airflow.”
CJA files show Hildebrandt was hired by Travelers Rest Police Department shortly after in November 2021. According to the lawsuit, Chief Benjamin Ford previously stated that there were “no red flags” in Hildebrandt’s file when he was hired by the department.
“If Chief Ford doesn’t think this kind of violence and criminality constitutes a red flag, then what does,” Bakari Sellers, an attorney with Strom Law Firm, said in a statement Wednesday. “That’s exactly the kind of deliberate indifference that leads to a predator like Hildebrandt wearing a badge and a gun so he can take a woman to a dark, secluded area of Travelers Rest High School, rape her and think he’ll get away with it.”
Ford previously told The Greenville News that Hildebrandt was fired hours after the assault occurred last summer.
"Obviously I don’t tolerate that type of conduct and that shows from me terminating him in four hours," Chief Ford said. "We don’t tolerate that type of conduct in the city of Travelers Rest."
Lawsuit alleges systemic issues at police department
The lawsuit claims the alleged assault is part of a pattern of sexual abuse at the hands of officers at the department and a failure in hiring practices.
The complaint points to an assault involving a minor by former officer Shawn Jenkins in 2019. Jenkins was charged second-degree sexual misconduct after sexual assaulting a minor at his home and threatening to use a taser if they didn’t comply with his advances. Jenkins met the then 17-year-old at a youth mentorship program with the Boy Scouts Post 466 Explorer program.
In 2020, the teen filed a civil lawsuit accusing the City of Travelers Rest and the police department of gross negligence for failing to supervise Jenkins and allowing him to take his taser home without proper training. The lawsuit was settled in January 2022. However, criminal charges against Jenkins were dismissed in February 2022 based on "prosecutorial discretion."
Gerard Hildebrandt Federal Lawsuit by Kathryn on Scribd
Gross negligence claims in the latest lawsuit state that Travelers Rest is liable for the actions of Hildebrandt and other employees. The complaint also alleges the city has polices that fail to conduct thorough background checks for police officers and properly train officers regarding appropriate force and sexual harassment.
“Travelers Rest’s failure to reprimand and intervene and/or take corrective action against its officers is evidence that Defendant Travelers Rest ratified and promulgated officer misconduct, and provides further evidence of its breach of duties owed to the citizens of Travelers Rest, including Plaintiff,” the lawsuit says.
At a bond reduction hearing for Hildebrandt in May, Sellers said he encourages other potential victims to come forward.
Attempts to reach Chief Ford and the City of Travelers Rest for comment about the lawsuit were not immediately successful.
Kathryn Casteel is an investigative reporter with The Greenville News and can be reached at KCasteel@gannett.com or on Twitter @kathryncasteel.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Lawsuit filed against Travelers Rest, officer over sexual assault case
