Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, village trustee Andrew Holmes named in sexual assault lawsuit
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A civil lawsuit has been filed against the mayor of Dolton and a well-known community activists over alleged roles in a sexual assault in Las Vegas.
The lawsuit alleges Dolton Village Trustee Andrew Holmes sexually assaulted a village employee during a trip to Las Vegas, and also claims Mayor Tiffany Henyard retaliated against the employee and a police officer when she learned of the allegations.
The allegations are stunning in that they include Holmes, a well-known victim advocate, who also serves as a trustee in Dolton. While no criminal charges have been filed against him, Las Vegas police confirmed they do have an open investigation into the claims.
Better known for his work as a crisis responder helping victims of gun violence, Holmes has also served for several years as a Dolton trustee.
He is now named in the lawsuit filed Monday by a Dolton police officer and former member of Mayor Henyard's security detail, as well as a woman who believe she was sexually assaulted by Holmes. ABC7 is withholding her identity because of the nature of the allegations, which are now, according to four Dolton trustees, part of what former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot will take on in her new job as special investigator into Henyard's tenure.
READ MORE: Lori Lightfoot hired to investigate Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard
The complaint says the alleged incident took place during a trip to Las Vegas in May 2023, which included Henyard and various employees from Dolton and Thornton Township.
It was during the last evening of the trip that the complaint alleges Officer Byron Miles received a phone call from Holmes who "began describing a host of his exploits from the trip, many of a sexual nature...and there was some suggestion that [redacted] may not have had the ability to consent and/or did not provide consent."
It is at this point, according to the complaint, that Officer Miles began to record the call, which he eventually switched over to FaceTime.
READ MORE | 3 former employees sue Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard for wrongful firing amid corruption accusations
The complaint goes on to say that the following day when the woman in question woke up, "she found she was in Trustee Holmes' hotel room, fully dressed. She was embarrassed as she believed she had blacked out."
According to the complaint, it was not until their return to Dolton that Officer Miles, suspecting she was not aware of what had transpired, went to her with the information. The lawsuit alleges that at a later meeting with Henyard, the mayor said "if the information got out Henyard would be ruined and all of the work she had done would be lost."
According to the lawsuit, within weeks the alleged victim, who worked for Henyard, was out of a job and Officer Miles was removed from the mayor's security detail. The lawsuit asserts claims against Henyard for retaliation.
While our calls to Holmes have gone unanswered Wednesday, as spokesperson for Henyard said they could not comment on an ongoing investigation and are cooperating with investigators, and pointed ABC7 to a statement issued a few weeks ago before Holmes was specifically named saying that the Village of Dolton previously conducted an independent investigation into the matter, saying that, "Former police officer Miles was interviewed and denied knowing anything about these allegations. Also, despite numerous attempts by the Village's independent investigators to contact [the employee], she refused to give a statement or cooperate with our investigation. Unfortunately, this is nothing more than two disgruntled Village employees who are trying to make off with the taxpayers hard earned dollars."
Nearly identical complaints to this one, but without Holmes specifically named, were filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights in early March. The lawsuit states it will opt out of that process to pursue their claims in civil court, with a preliminary court date scheduled for May.
