News

The Chemung County Legislature will vote on whether to settle a wrongful death lawsuit against the county regarding a woman who took her own life in the county jail in 2019.

Two former employees have filed a $4 million lawsuit against HOLT Architects (Holt), a revered firm with fingerprints throughout central New York. Sarah Hourihan and Whitney Van Houten are seeking damages from the company, alleging a male employee of the firm sexually harassed them by illegally obtaining lewd images of them from their personal electronic devices and that the company inadequately investigated and responded to the incident.

A Tompkins County man has been awarded a multi-million dollar judgment as part of a civil lawsuit over sexual abuse he suffered in the late 1970s at the hands of a relative.

At the age of 5, Jeffrey Moat was sexually abused by his uncle. The abuse ruined his childhood, leading him down a path of substance abuse. At 15 years old, Jeffrey began drinking and using marijuana, a few years later he turned to more dangerous substances.

Dustin Drake, the man charged in a DWI crash that killed 4 people in 2019, has been found not guilty on all counts, including aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, and aggravated DWI.

Monday, May 1st is National Law Day, and the Tompkins County Bar Association is hosting a free event at the Borg Warner Room at the Tompkins County Public Library and via Zoom to help community members “better understand the free legal services that are available in Tompkins County,” according to TCBA president Jacob McNamara.

An appellate court has denied the appeal of the Elmira City School District in a student rape case, deciding that two alleged prior rapes of the student should remain part of the case.

The Elmira City School District faces a lawsuit after family members claim a student with developmental disabilities was raped on multiple occasions by another student on the Elmira High School campus, and eventually became pregnant.

The grandparents of an Elmira High School student have claimed their developmentally disabled granddaughter was raped and impregnated on school property in a lawsuit filed last year, according to court records obtained by 18 News on Thursday.

Miquelle Fountain says she was subjected to years of “discriminatory conduct through racist and sexist harassment” while employed at Red Lobster. Now, she’s speaking out exclusively with 18 News about the conduct she endured working for the restaurant chain, including at their Horseheads location.

"As it stands now with what we know, he is being investigated by the Albany County district Attorney's office, along with other district attorney's offices across the state from what we are aware of," says Aubrey Hetznecker, Associate Attorney at Ithaca-based law firm Schlather, Stumbar, Parks & Salk, LLP.

“If Clint Halftown wants to put these people under his umbrella and claim that this represents the Cayuga Indian Nation, that’s incredibly sad.” Charles Bowman, a Fayette resident, who suffered a brutal beatdown at the hands of Cayuga Nation Police officers around this time last year, has finally filed a civil lawsuit in Seneca County’s Supreme Court of the State of New York on Thursday, Feb. 25.

Over 6,400 people so far filed claims against their abusers under New York States Child Victims Act, which allows people who were sexually abused as children to file a civil suit against their abuser or organization, regardless of how long it has been since the abuse took place.

“While we are still gathering information on this charge, it raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the defense presented during the criminal trial,” said Aubrey Hetznecker of Schlather, Stumbar, Parks & Salk. “This perjury charge also highlights the vulnerabilities survivors of sexual assault face in the criminal justice system. Our client is eager to pursue her civil suit and hold the perpetrators accountable.”