Sexual assault victim sues offender, Somerset County, district attorney's office
PITTSBURGH ― A Somerset County victim of strangulation and violent sexual assault is suing her convicted offender, Jeffrey Thomas, who is serving prison time for the crime "in his individual and official capacity as an employee of the Somerset County District Attorney's Office" in federal court.
Thomas was actively serving as district attorney when the act occurred on Sept. 18, 2021. He is currently listed as suspended from that position. His term ends this year or the first week of January 2024, after a newly elected district attorney takes the oath of office.
The plaintiff, listed as "Jane Doe," filed the civil lawsuit on Sept. 15 in the U.S. Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania through her Pittsburgh attorney Walter J. Nalducci. She claims her individual rights under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and her civil rights were violated by the actions of Thomas.
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Additionally, the plaintiff alleges Somerset County's policy and decision-makers failed in their duty to implement policies, practices and procedures for the district attorney's office to respect the plaintiff's "constitutional right to assistance and protection."
Thus, Thomas "consciously disregarded the rights of the plaintiff knowing that the policymakers would approve and ratify, or at very least ignore his actions."
The result of the offender's actions caused the plaintiff's "unwarranted and excruciating physical and mental anguish," according to the lawsuit.
"The claims brought by the plaintiff arise out of acts committed by the individual defendants in the course of performing their administrative duties to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Nalducci wrote.
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Thomas, 37, was sentenced on Aug. 17 to serve a minimum sentence of 27 months in state prison for strangling and assaulting the plaintiff after he entered her home uninvited.
A jury convicted him in March of strangulation with sexual violence and criminal trespass, as well as counts of unlawful restraint, indecent assault, false imprisonment and simple assault. The jury found him not guilty of sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and a second simple assault count.
According to the lawsuit, prior to and during the time of the incident, Thomas exhibited behaviors in "ways which counter to the obligations and his duties of an officer of the Court as well as those associated with his position as the Somerset County District Attorney." The county decision and policymakers knew or should have known the "dangers that these signs, propensities, behaviors and actions exposed Plaintiff and the community, too," the suit alleges.
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As a direct result of the Sept. 18, 2021 incident, according to the lawsuit, the plaintiff suffered among injuries and damages: Physical and mental pain and suffering, loss of liberty, invasion of her privacy and freedom of association, damage to her reputation, embarrassment and humiliation and loss of employment and income.
The plaintiff is asking for compensatory and punitive damages and reasonable counsel fees, "and such other further relief as the court deems just and appropriate."
She has requested a jury trial.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Sexual assault victim of suspended Somerset DA sues for civil rights violation
