Tiffany Henyard tried to conceal alleged sexual assault by Chicago activist, lawsuit claims
Bombshell allegations against Tiffany Henyard, Andrew Holmes in new lawsuit
The civil lawsuit alleges Holmes sexually assaulted the female village employee while on a Dolton-related business trip to Las Vegas on May 26, 2023. According to the lawsuit, the employee had drinks with Holmes, whom she "thought of...as an uncle," then passed out in Holmes' hotel room.
DOLTON, Ill. - A well-known Chicago community activist associated with helping crime victims is now being accused of sexual assault.
The allegations against Andrew Holmes are made in a lawsuit filed Monday evening by a former employee of the Village of Dolton and a Dolton police officer.
In addition to his work as a community activist helping victims of crime and police, Holmes serves as a Trustee for the Village of Dolton.
The civil lawsuit alleges Holmes sexually assaulted the female village employee while on a Dolton-related business trip to Las Vegas on May 26, 2023. According to the lawsuit, the employee had drinks with Holmes, whom she "thought of...as an uncle," then passed out in Holmes' hotel room.
The lawsuit alleges Holmes then called Dolton Police Officer Byron Miles, who was also on the trip as part of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard's security detail, to tell Miles that the woman was passed out in his room.
"Holmes began describing a host of his exploits from the trip, many of a sexual nature to Officer Miles," the lawsuit states. "At some point during his rant, Trustee Holmes made reference to him engaging in sexual activities with a Dolton/Thornton employee....and there was some suggestion that [the employee] may not have had the ability to consent and/or did not provide consent."
The lawsuit states Officer Miles then began recording the phone call and face-timed Holmes.
"Officer Miles could see that Trustee Holmes had his shirt off and appeared to have exerted himself. Trustee Holmes then panned the camera toward the bed where Officer Miles could see a woman...who was partially undressed. The Trustee then moved the camera to various private areas of [the woman's] body displaying them on screen and at times moving or removing articles of clothing as he transmitted the images."
The lawsuit alleges when the woman woke up she couldn't remember anything that happened the night before and was not aware of the alleged assault until informed by Officer Miles when they had returned to Dolton.
"At some point during that time, Trustee Holmes was in communication with Officer Miles and again Trustee Holmes made reference to his exploits in Las Vegas. Trustee Holmes further advised Officer Miles at that time that he had unprotected sex with [the female employee] while in Las Vegas.
The lawsuit alleges that when the female employee became aware of what allegedly happened she requested to speak to Mayor Tiffany Henyard. Henyard allegedly told the woman "...if the information got out Henyard would be ruined and all of the work she had done would be lost."
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Despite assurances that Henyard would handle the situation, the lawsuit alleges the female employee was eventually fired by the Village of Dolton. Officer Miles alleges his duties were diminished and he faced retaliation at work.
Fox 32 spoke briefly to Holmes, who said he had "no response at this time, not to these allegations. I'm not bothered by it."
Las Vegas Police have reportedly launched an investigation into the allegations.
The lawsuit accuses Henyard, the Village of Dolton and Thornton Township, where Henyard is Supervisor, of attempting to cover up the alleged assault and retaliating against the two employees.
We reached out to the Illinois Dept. of Human Rights to find out more about its role in processing discrimination allegations under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Shared below is what they had to say:
Why do complainants file discrimination allegations first with IDHR versus Circuit Court?
"The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) is responsible for enforcing the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). The IHRA prohibits individuals and organizations in specific contexts from taking discriminatory actions that impact people’s ability to live free from discrimination and provides remedies for violations. IDHR’s role includes receiving, investigating, and mediating allegations of discrimination at no expense to complainants or respondents. The process does not require legal representation from either party. Once an employment discrimination charge has been filed with IDHR, the complainant can either participate in IDHR’s investigative and mediation services to resolve their dispute, or they may choose to opt out of IDHR’s services and proceed to the circuit courts to litigate their civil rights case. If the complainant chooses to participate in IDHR’s investigation process, IDHR’s investigators will utilize their expertise to obtain documents, interview witnesses, and conduct fact-finding conferences where appropriate to determine whether there is substantial evidence of a violation of the IHRA.
"As the state’s central processor of employment discrimination charges, IDHR utilizes its intake services to track the nature and type of discrimination alleged throughout Illinois. This data informs IDHR’s assignment of charges for investigative and mediation services and utilizes the data to inform IDHR’s enforcement and discrimination prevention initiatives, including outreach, education, and technical assistance efforts."
Why do some complainants opt out of an IDHR investigation and why do some choose to participate in an IDHR Investigation?
"In employment discrimination cases, complainants choose to either opt out of IDHR services or participate in IDHR services for various reasons. Some complainants who are vulnerable or have limited means often choose to utilize IDHR’s investigation and mediation services because they can count on fair, neutral, and equitable access to justice regardless of their income level, educational level, legal representation, language ability, disability, immigration status, or they fear experiencing retaliation or coercion. These complainants rely on IDHR to investigate and issue an Investigation Report that sets forth the facts of the investigation and determines whether substantial evidence of discrimination was found. Others choose to participate in IDHR processes because they wish to resolve their case confidentially through mediation and not in a legal forum. Still, others stay with IDHR because they need the assistance of the state to enforce breaches of settlement agreements.
"Complainants choose to opt out of IDHR’s investigation and mediation services for various reasons. Some opt out because they have legal representation and are interested in immediately litigating their civil rights dispute in the circuit courts. Others opt out because they believe they are already in possession of significant evidence or facts that substantiate their claims and are not interested in an IDHR fact-finding investigation. Complainants may also choose to opt out of the IDHR investigation because they are instead seeking a jury trial. Should the case remain with IDHR, the case may proceed to the Illinois Human Rights Commission where a public hearing may be held before an administrative law judge. For more information about investigations at IDHR visit Filing a Charge (illinois.gov).
"Overall, most complainants pursue IDHR’s investigative or mediation services to resolve their discrimination allegations because our investigations are completed within 365 days, the statutorily required time to complete an investigation."