REDFORD TWP., Mich. (WWJ) -- A woman has filed a lawsuit against Redford Township alleging she was sexually assaulted by the supervisor of a court ordered work program two years ago.
The lawsuit, filed by Linda Sexton, says she was required to report to a court ordered work program with the township on July 29, 2017, as part of her probation for a non-violent criminal offense. She says two Redford Township employees supervised the program and told her that they worked for the court and the police and that she needed to do whatever they told her to do. Sexton says one of the supervisors, Larry Dunn, told her "I make the rules" and "I'm the boss."
Over the next two days in the work program, the plaintiff claims that Dunn, along with another coworker, isolated her and Dunn sexually assaulted her when they were alone, kissing her and fondling her breasts and body. The lawsuit alleges that Dunn brought Sexton into a locked building and told her "I am the mayor," proceeding to sexually assault her and digitally penetrate her vagina. The lawsuit also alleges that Dunn made numerous sexually suggestive comments, while forcing her to ride in his truck, separate from other members of the work program.
The lawsuit says that Dunn, a Sterling Heights resident, threatened Sexton with his position as supervisor, telling her "I can find you anywhere" and threatened to hog tie her and kidnap her.
Dunn was criminally charged in January 2019 after pleading guilty to the assault. He submitted himself to a polygraph test in 2017, which found that he gave untruthful answers to the questions "Did you touch [Ms. Sexton's] bare vagina?" and "Did you touch [Ms. Sexton's] bare vagina in that shed?" and
The lawsuit, filed Monday names the City of Redford Township, as well as Dunn and another supervisor of the work program, Thomas Cernuto. The lawsuit brings a variety of claims under state and federal law, including violations of the 4th and 14th Amendments and failure to protect.
Sexton's attorney, Jonathan R. Marko of Detroit, called the case "a tragic case of abuse of power," in a press release.
"The City of Redford had a rapist in charge of its work program that forced vulnerable citizens to be exposed to him or be thrown in jail," Marko said in the release. "Ms. Sexton had no choice but to report to this man and be violated in the most horrible way as part of her sentence for a minor infraction. How many other people have been victimized in this program?"
