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Sexual Harassment

1279: Les Stapleton

Cajsa LilliehookLeave a comment
Les Stapleton

Les Stapleton was the Mayor of Prestonburg and planned to run for State Senate in the Republican primary on May 21, 2024, but he withdrew from the race in January. However, he was sued for sexual harassment and assault by a city employee. A few hours after the lawsuit was filed Stapleton resigned as Mayor. He claims the lawsuit had nothing to do with it, rather he claimed he resigned due to the injuries he suffered from a fall from a roof.

The lawsuit was filed by a former city employee who claimed she endured persistent, pervasive, and severe harassment including unwelcome sexual advances. She claims Stapleton exposed himself to her and said her employment was conditional on her submission to his demands for sex. She claims he would lock himself in a room with her and demand sexual favors and that he made threats of phsycial and sexual violence. She claims that she did submit though in the end, she was terminated, she claimed due to his discriminator employment practices.

After she found another job, she claims Stapleton would come to her new place of employment and harass her, demanding sex and exposing himself.

Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton has been accused of verbal and physical sexual assault against a former city employee, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed in Floyd Circuit Court by the woman's attorney, Dale Golden. Stapleton, who's been mayor since 2014, and the city of Prestonsburg have been named co-defendants in the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Stapleton used his authority as mayor to subject the former employee to unwanted sexual advances, touching and comments. Stapleton allegedly requested sexual favors from the woman, which she felt compelled to do. The Herald-Leader does not name victims of sexual assault or abuse. Stapleton did not immediately return an email Tuesday morning seeking comment. The lawsuit also claims Stapleton touched the woman without consent, exposed himself, engaged in sexual acts and created a hostile work environment for her. The conduct was described as "severe, inappropriate and pervasive." The former employee worked at the Mountain Arts Center, which is owned by the city of Prestonsburg, since 2001, according to court documents. The lawsuit doesn't specify when her employment there ended. Stapleton's alleged conduct occurred during business hours at the center and at city hall, the lawsuit claims. Stapleton would lock the door to the office where the alleged assaults occurred, according to court documents. Stapleton told the woman her job and benefits depended on his requests for sexual favors, according to court documents. Court documents say Stapleton has the ability to hire, fire, promote and discipline employees of the center. The woman was "constructively discharged" from the Mountain Arts Center as a result of Stapleton's conduct, according to court documents. The lawsuit claims Stapleton and the city discriminated against the woman based on her gender. Constructive discharge is when an employee's resignation or retirement is not found to be voluntary but instead forced due to a hostile or intolerable work environment created by the employer, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. After the woman's constructive discharge, Stapleton pursued the victim at her new workplace and continued to expose himself, according to court documents. Stapleton also made threats to physically assault the woman, according to court documents. Stapleton's conduct also took place at city hall in Prestonsburg. Stapleton has not been criminally charged in connection to the allegations. Golden said he was not aware of any police reports being filed about the allegations. The city was named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit for failing to "adopt adequate procedures to prevent and/or detect sexual harassment and abuse by Prestonsburg officials," the lawsuit says. The city knew or should have known about Stapleton's conduct but failed to appropriately respond. The city was notified of the hostile work environment created by Stapleton but failed to appropriately respond. The lawsuit says the city is liable for the incidents that occurred and for Stapleton's conduct. The woman was intentionally humiliated by Stapleton and suffered severe emotional distress from Stapleton's conduct, according to court documents. She was also treated differently than other employees and Stapleton attempted to silence her. Stapleton's behavior towards female employees was severe enough that the city should have terminated or started proceedings to remove Stapleton from office, the lawsuit says. "Kentucky law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. No woman should ever tolerate such conduct," Golden said in a comment to the Herald-Leader. Stapleton previously intended to run for the 29th District of the State Senate, but said in January he would be leaving the race, according to WYMT. Christopher Leach: @ChrisLeachHL
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) – March 13, 2024 – page 2

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