LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A sergeant with the Jeffersontown Fire Protection District claims she was pressured into sex by her supervisor shortly after joining the department, sexually harassed there for years and then retaliated against when she complained.
Crystal Blevins also says an investigation by a friend of the chief into her allegations focused on her and not top department officials, including the assistant chief.
Blevins, who is currently on suspension, claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Jefferson Circuit Court that she was solicited for sex by her supervisor, a captain, just a month after she started in the summer of 2018.
Afraid of upsetting him, Blevins says she had sex with the captain once, but then refused future requests, prompting him to verbally abuse her in front of her co-workers.
No one has been criminally charged; WDRB News is only naming defendants and plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Blevins consented to have her name disclosed despite alleging sexual harassment.
The lawsuit claims that officials at the department took advantage of Blevins, who is a survivor of child sex-trafficking, years of physical abuse and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
For example, Blevins claims then-Assistant Chief Chris Rader solicited her for sex while she was on duty and pressure her to convince a new female employee to join them, the suit claims. Rader retired in late April.
Blevins acknowledged having a consensual relationship with Rader for three years. She said when she broke it off, he sexually harassed her and belittled her in front of coworkers.
“The … fire department has a culture of, I would say a fraternity, like a culture where senior level leadership has been for years able to prey on new recruits, young women and solicit sexual favors,” said attorney Laura Landenwich, who is representing Blevins.
A request from Blevins to move to a different station was denied, the suit claims.
Earlier this year, Blevins said she was told a patient had complained about her.
Believing she was being retaliated against by Rader, Blevins reported his conduct to the chair of the department’s Board of Trustees, according to the suit.
A former FBI agent and friend of J-Town Fire Chief Sean Dreisbach conducted the investigation of Blevins’ allegations, the suit claims.
Blevins told the investigator she was afraid that Rader would target an incoming recruit class and also about the department building a new office for Dreisbach that included a private bedroom.
After that meeting, Rader announced he was retiring effective April 30. He received full benefits and a “hero” bonus, according to the suit.
But Blevins said the FBI agent, Carl Christiansen, then focused solely on getting information about her. He asked coworkers if they heard she had been stealing narcotics from an ambulance. He told them they had been accused of having sex with her.
“The department itself started to manufacture justification to fire her when she took the issue to the board of directors,” Landenwich said in an interview Tuesday. “The retaliation got worse.”
And on March 30, Christiansen told Blevins that the Board of Trustees wanted her to sign an affidavit admitting to have sex with other employees while on duty, according to the suit. She declined.
"She has been the victim of a smear campaign in which several of her coworkers have said, I can no longer associate you with you because these investigators keep pressuring me to give them information even on allegations that aren't true," Landenwich said.
On April 13, Blevins was told the investigation into her complaint did not uncover any discrimination or sexual harassment.
Dreisbach did not immediately respond to voicemail messages left Tuesday. In a statement sent to WDRB News after the publication of this story, Steve Pence, an attorney representing the fire board, said the department, its leaders and its board were "aware of Crystal Blevins' allegations."
"The Department has investigated them thoroughly and has taken what it believes to be appropriate responsive action," Pence continued. "It denies that Ms. Blevins has been subjected to sex discrimination or sexual harassment, and intends to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit."
The lawsuit also claims that Blevins’ open records request for the investigation have been improperly denied.
On June 6, Dreisbach suspended Blevins stating he had probable cause to believe the she was “guilty of conduct which justifies dismissal or punishment,” according to the lawsuit.
When she asked why she was being suspended, Blevins claims the chief refused to tell her, saying only “if your attorney wants to get the open records of the complaint, she can file for that.”
The lawsuit also claims another investigation was launched, and led by Christiansen, about an alleged complaint by a patient.
“We filed the suit in order to expose the culture and really the gross mismanagement of this fire department and the fact that it is exploiting young women,” Landenwich said. “And there is no accountability, even when those allegations are brought to light and proven.”
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
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