Rebekah Huskey, Kent Johnson (images via Chandra Law and court docs)
Warning: this story contains graphic details of sexual harassment and assault.
A Port Clinton, Ohio, firefighter, EMT, and mom to a toddler has filed a federal lawsuit against the local fire chief, accusing him of rampant sexual harassment and assault, even while she was pregnant and engaged to be married.
Rebekah Huskey, 31, sued the City of Port Clinton and Port Clinton Fire & Rescue Chief Kent Johnson last Friday alleging that the 64-year-old who has been on administrative leave since June is civilly liable for various alleged criminal acts even though the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Huskey's "civil-damages-for-criminal-acts claims" filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio include assault, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful restraint, gross sexual imposition, sexual imposition, menacing by stalking, tampering with records, interference with civil and statutory rights, dereliction of duty, workers' compensation fraud and complicity.
The lawsuit began by saying Huskey "began working for the City of Port Clinton fire division in 2006, first as a volunteer at least at the age of 16," and that she once saw Johnson as a friend of her family and like a father figure or uncle.
"Ms. Huskey has known Johnson since she was seven years old. Her father and fiancé both work for the fire division, too. Ms. Huskey thought of Johnson as a father or uncle, and his family like her aunts and cousins," the suit said. "Johnson often referred to her as his 'sweet, beautiful, special Emma,' referring to his own granddaughter."
That outlook changed, starting in the summer of 2021.
Huskey alleged that while she was pregnant the fire chief "forcefully" groped her buttocks from behind as she poured herself coffee in July 2021. After she gave birth to her son in September 2021, the chief allegedly began making lewd comments about her body like, "there are men into milking breasts" and that she could "make a fortune off that."
Johnson allegedly said Huskey's breasts "looked amazing" and that he now saw her as a "grown, sexy woman" rather than as "a young girl."
The plaintiff further alleged that the fire chief said he would masturbate to her Facebook photos, said that her toes "looked delicious," and even suggested that she and her fiancé have sex at the fire station on camera so Johnson could watch.
Throughout this time, Ms. Huskey repeatedly made clear to Johnson that she was not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship with him," the lawsuit filed by Chandra Law said. "She did her best to be polite and not anger him, because he was her boss—and being a firefighter and EMT was her dream job."
In July 2022, the fire chief allegedly had alcohol on his breath when he called Huskey into her office and "ran his hand from Ms. Huskey's calf, up her leg, toward her vagina."
"What the f—!" Huskey said she shouted.
"He tried to approach her again, but she shoved him back in his chair," the suit said. "He had a noticeable wet spot on his pants."
Huskey said that Johnson texted her the next day saying he felt "like a pedophile."
The plaintiff said that she deleted the text.
"Disgusted by what Johnson had done and said, given that she had known and thought of him as an uncle since she was seven years old, Ms. Huskey deleted that disgusting text message," the lawsuit said.
Rebekah Huskey-Kent Johnson texts (via court docs)
But there were plenty of other texts and a voicemail she didn't delete, according to Huskey's lawyers Subodh Chandra and Donald P. Screen, who provided images of those exhibits.
In one of them, the defendant said "Sorry for being crude" after asking Huskey to put N95 masks in her pants for a while, according to the lawsuit.
In another text, Johnson allegedly called Huskey "sexy" and said "You look great."
Kent Johnson text and voicemail (images via court docs)
In August 2022, Johnson allegedly cornered Huskey near lockers and sexually assaulted her.
"After Chief Johnson showed her the space, he pushed her face first into the lockers, with her hands on the doors. He gripped her shoulders and pushed his groin into her. He began grunting and rubbing her back and buttocks," the lawsuit said. "Ms. Huskey was frozen with fear. And she did not reciprocate."
The defendant is accused of saying "I am crazy about you" and "I would love to try your cream" during the alleged assault, before apologizing by saying there was a lot going on at home.
The lawsuit further alleged that Johnson sexually assaulted an "immobile" Huskey at her home while she was recovering from back surgery, knowing that her fiancé wouldn't be there when he showed up unannounced.
"For her it was like something out of a horror movie," the lawsuit said. "Chief Johnson did not stop knocking until Ms. Huskey, who could barely move, opened the door."
Johnson allegedly said that Huskey, wearing only a night gown, "looked sexy." He stood up, adjusted his erect penis, flashed his gun, and started rubbing Huskey's shoulder and back, saying "I've got magic hands. Trust me."
The fire chief allegedly said he "loved" Huskey, was "obsessed" with her, and said "If your back wasn't broken, I'd break it."
When Johnson tried to get Huskey to kiss him, she refused, and he showed off his erection again, the suit said.
"Did you have fun? It is important to me you had fun!" he allegedly said as the victim shook and cried.
Huskey alleged that Johnson showed up at the house "uninvited about 15 times after this incident" to "rub her legs from top to bottom, including her toes, knowing she could not move to resist his sexual advances."
The plaintiff said that when she finally returned to work in January 2023 Johnson made her his "personal secretary" and escalated his illicit conduct over the ensuing months.
The chief allegedly said lewd things like "I bet you can handle a dog knot," that he could make Huskey's "eyes cross" during sex, that he wanted to "lick [her] nipples," and that she had a "fat ass."
The lawsuit detailed at least two more incidents, one in March and one in April, in which Johnson allegedly asked Huskey to touch his penis near lockers and pushed her up against a sink in a storage room.
"While he was pushing his groin against her, he asked if she was 'playing with the squirt sink' and whether she 'squirts,'" the lawsuit said, alleging that Johnson then groped her buttocks and vagina.
Then came a May incident, which seems to have been the last straw.
"[Johnson] was shaking with anger because [Huskey] tried to avoid him. He kissed the side of her face up to her ear. He was enraged with Ms. Huskey's resistance and began shaking in anger. He eventually let Ms. Huskey go," the suit said, alleging that the fire chief started throwing items.
Huskey said she thought she heard five gunshots, not realizing at the time that they came from a shooting range down the road.
"This behavior scared her, so she left the fire station and fled to the smokehouse outside. She heard five gunshots. Because of Johnson's serial stalking and assaulting behavior, including having previously flashed his gun at her, she truly believed he shot the other employees in the firehouse and possibly shot himself," the complaint said. "Johnson had previously said he was not afraid to kill people or to kill himself."
The "terrified" victim said that she peed her pants while hiding from Johnson in the "fire division's fire-safety-demonstration smokehouse" for 15 minutes.
After calling her sister, Huskey told Johnson she was leaving work early because her period started, the suit said.
"Well, you're not bleeding from me," the fire chief allegedly responded.
Johnson allegedly retaliated against Huskey by destroying her "continuing-education records" to "interfere with her ability to recertify as a firefighter."
In addition to all of the above, the lawsuit accused "fetishist" Johnson of stealing Huskey's underwear.
"Obsessed with Ms. Huskey, and as part of his campaign of harassment, Johnson was taking and keeping her underwear and socks for his own prurient, fetishist use," the complaint said, also alleging that Johnson knew that Huskey would take a sink bath in the women's bathroom "before going to bed while on overnight firefighting duty—something he should not have known."
"Ms. Huskey had been so creeped out by that, she then used to use the toilet at night in the stationhouse, in the dark, with a flashlight to avoid any motion-detecting camera," the complaint said.
Huskey's attorneys said that her "dream job" became a living nightmare.
"Being a firefighter and EMT was Rebekah Huskey's dream job, and she was just as entitled as any of us to work in a safe environment free of violence and discrimination. It takes a great deal of courage for a kind and caring public servant like Rebekah to finally say, 'enough' and come forward," Subodh Chandra said in a statement. "We are determined to be her voice and help her hold everyone responsible accountable."
Law&Crime reached out to the City of Port Clinton and Port Clinton Fire & Rescue for comment.
You can read the lawsuit in full here.
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