Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann says the claims of sexual harassment and assault in a federal lawsuit filed last week have already been investigated and dismissed by another agency.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Evansville last Friday against Hermann, Vanderbugh County and the State of Indiana. It alleges that a former employee in the prosecutor’s office, Samantha Merideth, was assaulted and harassed by Hermann at a business conference in Chicago in August of 2013.
WNIN first reported this story in May of last year. Through her attorney, Merideth said then that she resigned from the prosecutor’s office in early 2019 after being bullied and harassed after the incident.
Hermann’s office issued a statement Tuesday that says Merideth’s complaint was investigated and dismissed last November.
"We were made aware today that Danks & Danks filed suit in federal court on behalf of a former employee.
This allegation was previously investigated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Following the investigation, the EEOC issued a dismissal of the claim on Nov 12, 2019. As this is an ongoing legal matter, our office will have no further public comment.”
According to Merideth’s attorney, Brandon Danks, Hermann will have to file a reply to the lawsuit’s allegations in federal court.
