Lawsuit Accuses Tom Ganley of Attempted Rape, Sexual Assault
A 39-year-old Cleveland woman sued auto dealer and Republican congressional candidate Tom Ganley on Thursday, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in his office last year.
The suit filed in Cuyahoga County Court of Commom Pleas identifies the woman as Robin Cupedro-Saccany, married mother of four and a longtime conservative Republican who volunteered to work on Thomas Ganley's US Senate campaign.
The complaint is for damages in excess of $25,000 resulting from attempted rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress along with other allegations.
Cleveland's Plain Dealer reports:
His accuser said she attended a Cleveland Tea Party rally where Ganley spoke on July 3, 2009, when he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate, before he decided to run for Congress. Impressed by Ganley's anti-abortion platform, the lawsuit says, the woman approached him, introduced herself and her children and offered to volunteer on his campaign.
The woman then visited Ganley's Chevrolet dealership on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland three times during the following weeks, to discuss volunteer campaign duties and a reduction in the interest rate on a car loan she received from a Ganley dealership, the lawsuit says.
Ganley talked during the meetings about fixing her van for free, reducing her interest rate and giving her a job at a dealership, according to the suit.
In their second meeting, Ganley told the woman that he and his wife lead separate lives and live on opposite sides of their home, the suit says. In each of the meetings, the suit says, Ganley pressed her about what she does for "fun."
On her last visit to Ganley's office, Aug. 1, the woman said she dropped off her van for repairs. While she waited in Ganley's office, the suit says, he made sexually suggestive comments and invited her to join him and his friends at a condominium he owns in Strongsville. Ganley gave her a $100 bill and told her to buy some lingerie and high-heeled shoes, according to the lawsuit.
Ganley told her he wanted her to dominate her, parade her on a leash and have sex with her in front of his "play friends," the suit says. It accuses him of grabbing her from behind, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her and, despite her resistance, reaching into her pants.
Ganley, a conservative Republican, faces incumbent Betty Sutton, a Democrat, in the 13th Congressional District.