A Cleveland woman who was denied a job with GOP congressional candidate Tom Ganley's campaign is now suing the candidate for sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The 39-year-old woman, a Tea Party activist, originally sued Ganley for attempted sexual assault but amended her complaint on October 4 because the statute of limitations for rape has passed. Ganley has denied the allegations and has accused the woman of extortion.

According to the complaint, the woman met Ganley, a Cleveland-area auto dealer, at a Tea Party rally in July 2009 and sought to volunteer for his campaign. She says he offered to interview her for a paid position.

When she went to discuss the job opening, she says, Ganley "told her he would fix her car for free, provide her with a paying job, and reduce the interest rate on the financing of her Chevy Van in return for her acting basically as a prostitute and becoming sexually submissive to him," reads the quid pro quo sexual harassment and retaliation complaint.

The amended complaint repeats earlier claims that Ganley offered the woman a $100 bill in order to purchase high heels, a thong and lingerie "so she could sexually play along with him and his friends." She also restated her claim that Ganley told her "he wanted her to be 'submissive' to him, and that he wanted to 'dominate' her and parade her around on a leash while his other 'play' friends watched."

The woman allegedly continued to volunteer through the Ganley campaign website for approximately two weeks after the incident at the car dealership. According to her lawyer, she did so because she still hoped to get a job.

On October 9, 2009, the woman sent Ganley a letter stating that his inappropriate remarks made her "sick and disgusted" and saying she didn't think he would be a worthy Senator. (Ganley is currently running for the House of Representatives.)

Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Seeks $25,000 in Damages

In her lawsuit, the woman accuses Ganley of refusing to hire her in retaliation because she would not "comply with these implied perverted sexual conditions of employment," and that he continued to harass her, including calling her several times in July 2010, in an attempt to "intimidate her, despite the fact that he was represented by attorneys regarding this matter at that time."

She is seeking $25,000 in damages for sexual harassment, employment discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium.

Ganley's attorneys responded aggressively to the allegations, accusing the woman of attempting to extort Ganley and tank his congressional campaign. According to his campaign manager, he contacted the FBI when notified of the allegations.

"Mr. Ganley has an impeccable record as both a local businessman and as an employer," his lawyer said in a statement. "It is unfortunate for Tom and his family that he is being smeared at the 11th hour of the upcoming election. We believe the timing of this lawsuit is no coincidence."

"One of the reasons my client and I delayed the suit and wanted to go into mediation is that we didn't want to help a pro-choice candidate like Betty Sutton," the woman's lawyer responded.

"Finally, when the mediation was unsuccessful, we believed it was a moral obligation to bring these allegations to the public so they could make a proper choice for Congress."

Source:

"Tom Ganley's sex assault accuser lodges employment discrimination claims" (Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 4, 2010)