ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Several St. Johns County leaders are named in a federal lawsuit claiming a sexual battery victim’s information was improperly released.
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The federal lawsuit claims it was used for political mudslinging by her opponent.
The victim, identified as Jane Doe, is suing the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Rob Hardwick in his official capacity, former Undersheriff turned General Counsel Matthew Cline in his individual capacity, a judge, her husband, and an anti-domestic violence political action committee.
According to the lawsuit, former Undersheriff Cline is accused of starting a rumor that a candidate running for judge in St. Johns County previously reported a false sexual battery claim.
The victim’s attorney Cindy Myers explained her client was sexually battered, but ultimately didn’t pursue charges.
“She did focus on healing. She lost a ton of weight. I mean, she went through dramatic changes because of the emotional fallout from this situation,” said Myers.
The false claim rumor, according to court documents, eventually made it to Joshua and Casey Woolsey.
Casey was the victim’s only opponent in the judicial race.
The complaint claims Joshua Woolsey tried to get her sexual battery police report and was even shown an unredacted copy that contained personal identifying information of the victim that is protected under state law by Cline, who at that point was serving as the SJCSO’s General Counsel.
“There’s no reason for that report to be in that person’s hands unless they intended to use it against her to harass, shame, belittle her in this campaign,” said Myers.
Myers claimed Joshua and Casey Woolsey did just that, publicly accusing the victim of falsifying the sexual battery report during the campaign.
Casey Woolsey won the race, and the victim filed the lawsuit last May.
A recent motion to dismiss the case brought by Woolseys and the Stop Domestic Violence Florida political committee was largely rejected by a court, with the judge going so far as to write the alleged conduct is, “intolerable, atrocious and utterly outrageous”.
Currently, the Woolseys are accused of defaming the victim, while the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office faces several claims including violations of public records laws and Marcy’s Law.
The sheriff’s office denied all wrongdoing in court filings.
Attorney Scott Thomas, who is representing the Woolseys in the case, issued the following statement to Action News Jax.
“On behalf of Woolsey Law and Casey and Josh Woolsey, we are pleased that the majority of these politically motivated claims have been dismissed at this initial stage. While it remains our belief that the case could and should have been dismissed in its entirety, we understand that in ruling on a motion to dismiss the Court was required to accept the plaintiff’s allegations as true and we respect the Court’s decision,” said Thomas. “To be certain, the Woolseys categorically deny the plaintiff’s false claims and are confident they will be vindicated in this proceeding as in the plaintiff’s prior three efforts.
Myers argued her client was re-traumatized by the release of her sensitive information, and the use of that information against her in the public sphere
“Her major concern is holding them accountable for sexual battery victims in St. Johns County. There has to be accountability for that. I mean, this is an egregious breach of confidentiality,” said Myers.
Depositions in the case are scheduled for next week.
SJCSO declined to comment on the pending litigation.
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