A civil suit has been filed against former Marion County Judge John Massey and the county based on allegations he inappropriately touched a female employee and retaliated against her when she reported the incidents.
A criminal charge is also open in Marion County Circuit Court based on the same allegations. In that case, Massey faces a misdemeanor count of public sexual indecency.
Massey was arrested July 5 last year on the sexual indecency charge and bonded out of the Marion County jail about a half hour after being booked.
The plaintiff in the civil suit, which was filed October 11, is identified as Halle Loftin Brown. She is said to have worked for the county as an administrative assistant. Massey is identified as Brown’s supervisor.
The allegations in both the criminal and civil cases are basically the same.
Brown is reported to have told investigators that Massey hired her about three years before the charges were filed against him. She said the county official had started inappropriately touching her shortly after she was put on the payroll.
During the investigation, a surveillance video taken in the county shop was obtained.
According to electronic court records, the video dated from March 30 last year.
It is said to depict Massey engaging in touching, patting and rubbing Brown on various parts of her body.
Investigators showed the tape to Massey and he was said to have claimed he was giving Brown a “wedgy.” He is said to have eventually admitted that his behavior displayed on the video was inappropriate.
It is alleged that various episodes involving Massey touching Brown took place as the pair traveled around the county to “check roads.”
In the civil suit, it is reported that during the road inspection trips, Massey would “subject the plaintiff to unwanted sexual advances.”
Brown “was placed in a position of fear both for her personal safety and her job should she speak up about the unwanted sexual touching and harassment,” according to language in the civil suit.
She also said she had told Massey several times not to touch her as he had allegedly been doing. She said one request was made in person and another in a telephone conversation.
According to Brown, Massey responded to one of her requests by saying, “I don’t care.”
When Massey was asked by investigators if he recalled Brown asking him to stop the unwanted and inappropriate contact, he told them “she never said that but one time . And, hell, I don’t try and keep up with stuff like that.”
Brown said she had did managed to stop Massey from touching her in intimate areas of her body. Massey told investigators he had never touched the county employee’s “privates.”
She said during the various incidents, Massey had either put his hands on top of her clothing, underneath her garments or both.
Brown is reported to have “mustered the courage” to lodge a complaint against Massey on April 2 last year.
After the complaint was made, Brown contends that various actions were taken to make her work life difficult. She said she was “moved to another office, deprived of work, and that a video camera was installed to monitor her activities.”
She claims she was “generally treated with contempt by Massey and others.”
In the civil suit, Massey’s conduct is termed “outrageous,” exhibiting “extreme and utterly intolerable behavior in a civilized community.”
It is alleged in the civil suit that “as his employer and being aware of the sexual touching of the plaintiff and failing to take any remedial action” makes Marion County liable for Massey’s conduct “committed within the scope of his employment.”
Brown is reported to have pushed for a criminal investigation of Massey. The investigation was launched and the misdemeanor charge resulted.
In the civil suit, Brown is said to have been disappointed in the charge and continues to believe Massey should have been charged with sexual assault.
While no specific monetary amount is set out in the civil suit, Brown’s alleged damages include emotional distress, mental anguish, back pay and overtime lost, lost benefits and attorney’s fees.
According to court records, Massey’s trial on the charge in the criminal case is now set for January 16, 2024.
The Fayetteville attorney handling Brown’s case, George Rozell, is also involved in a federal suit brought by Tabatha King.
King, a former employee of the Baxter County jail, claims she was sexually assaulted by a male deputy and fired when she would not keep quiet about the attack.
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