FLICKR/PAUL SABLEMAN
The woman alleges that the assistant manager, Micah Casteel, touched her inappropriately, made suggestive remarks and asked her for rides home from work. Then, on March 13, 2017, she says he followed her into the walk-in cooler and tried to put his hands in his pants.
The woman says she fled, but that Casteel later followed her into an office and locked the door. "Then Casteel pinned Plaintiff against the desk and attempted to unbutton her pants, and trying to restrain Plaintiff. During this struggle, Plaintiff could feel Casteel’s erect penis," her lawsuit alleges. She says she was able to escape, and that she left work immediately and called the police.
Casteel, who lives in Park Hills, was swiftly charged with a felony count of “attempted rape” in St. Francois County. The charge is still pending, court records show.
The lawsuit, which was filed yesterday in federal court, accused the company of negligent hiring, negligent retention and supervision, sexual harassment and discrimination and retaliation. The woman is also suing Casteel for common-law battery and assault.
In the suit, the woman says she returned to work after reporting the incident only to find she'd been scheduled for just two days that week. She also filed a restraining order against Casteel, but when she delivered it to the restaurant, she was told, "Don't worry about coming in any more." She took that to mean she'd been fired.
Later, at a hearing for the restraining order, a company representative said she was still employed. But when she later contacted the person who'd said that, she was told she'd been fired for "job abandonment," the lawsuit says.
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