PITTSBURGH - A woman has filed a lawsuit claiming that ex-Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas sent her sexually violent text messages for months before breaking into her home and physically and sexually assaulting her - allegations that resulted in Thomas being sent to prison in August for multiple years.
Plaintiff Jane Doe filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against the Somerset County District Attorney's Office, Somerset County, and Jeffrey Thomas, citing violations of right to bodily integrity, unlawful seizure, excessive force, negligence, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment.
According to the lawsuit, in the fall of 2018, Doe and Thomas began communicating because Thomas was interested in purchasing a vehicle from her. The lawsuit states that Thomas eventually lost interest in making the purchase but continued to send Doe unwanted text messages for months. In 2019, Thomas was elected to the position of District Attorney with the Somerset County District Attorney's Office.
Doe claims that after his appointment, Thomas continued to message her and even began to show up at the restaurant she frequented. She adds that she believes one of the restaurant's bartenders would inform Thomas when she was at the restaurant. In 2020, Doe rented an apartment from the aforementioned restaurant owner. She claims that three days after moving in, Thomas showed up unannounced at her apartment and gained entry when her roommate went out to her vehicle.
Doe says that she is unsure how Thomas learned of her new address and says that he returned to the apartment two more times and tried to gain entry while she hid from him in the apartment. According to Doe, Thomas began to become more aggressive in his messages with her and began sending her sexually violent graphic messages.
The messages continued for months up until Sept. 18, when Thomas allegedly entered Doe's home without permission and physically and sexually assaulted her while her child slept upstairs. Doe claims that during the assault, she was punched and choked to the point where she thought she was going to lose consciousness.
The lawsuit states that Thomas had a history of sexual harassment and sexual assault, knowledge that was known to Somerset County officials. Despite this knowledge, Somerset County took no action to discipline or sanction Thomas. According to the lawsuit, this lack of action is evidence that the authorities of Somerset County either condoned or were indifferent to Thomas' actions.
Thomas could spend the next seven years of his life in prison after convictions on six criminal charges.
Doe claims that because of the actions of Thomas and the inaction of Somerset County and the Somerset County District Attorney's Office, she has been made to experience pain, suffering, mental anguish, emotional trauma, embarrassment, humiliation, loss of liberty, invasion of privacy and freedom of association, loss of bodily integrity, damage to her reputation, and loss of income and employment. She adds that she has incurred medical and psychological expenses and will continue to require the services of medical and psychological staff to recover from her injuries.
The plaintiff is seeking damages, plus interest, attorneys fees, court costs, and any other relief the court deems proper. She is represented in this case by attorney Walter J. Nalducci of Cutruzzula and Nalducci in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case number 3:23-CV-00218