CHARLESTON – The first of multiple alleged sexual assault victims of a West Virginia State Trooper has filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape.
The plaintiff, identified only as S.B., filed her complaint May 9 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Trooper Michael Miller, the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, a John Doe employee of the State Police and the Gunther-McNeely-Nowlan Post No. 19 of the American Legion in Logan. Attorneys for the woman previously filed a Notice of Intent to Sue.
The attorneys call the alleged actions of Miller “horrific abuses.”
Jesse W. Forbes
| forbeslawwv.com
“These are the very people that are supposed to step in and protect the public from harm,” attorney Jesse Forbes said. “To have allegations in court that a West Virginia Trooper inflicted the horrific abuses detailed in the complaint is not only shocking but completely dismaying to the public as a whole who need to have faith in the law enforcement community.”
Attorney Dante diTrapano agreed.
“To allow such abuses as detailed in the complaint to occur in Logan, West Virginia, is a shocking display of callousness that should never be tolerated,” he said. “The victim went out a few days before Christmas to have a nice evening. As described in the complaint, instead, her whole world was turned upside down by the vicious actions of this West Virginia State Trooper.
“This young woman went through a brutal ordeal and is lucky to be alive given the allegations in the complaint. As alleged, a Trooper, who is supposed to protect and serve the public, used his status and badge to attack an innocent woman that had the right to be secure in her person. This suit details a gruesome encounter that no one should have to suffer through. The impacts of an assault like this are devastating and last a lifetime.
“We look forward to representing this brave victim in this case and are confident that the justice system will hold all those accountable that have responsibility. This sort of abuse should never be tolerated.”
According to the complaint, S.B. is a resident of Logan County. Miller was and is a member of the State Police and resides in Logan County as well. She says she had only met Miller on one previous occasion before the alleged rape.
She says she was a patron at the American Legion Post on the night of December 17 and early December 18, 2021, when she began to feel ill and went to the restroom.
“Several hours later, plaintiff awoke naked in her own bed,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff had urine, feces and blood covering her legs. Her earrings had been ripped out of her ears, her hair was pulled out and her teeth were damaged.
“Plaintiff’s son came into the home and reported that it appeared that someone had been in plaintiff’s car. When plaintiff went to her car, she found the car to be in a state of disarray.”
The woman went to the emergency department of Charleston Area Medical Center Women’s and Children’s Hospital. A rape kit confirmed she had been raped vaginally and sodomized with an unknown instrument.
She also says Miller sent her a request on social media and a message asking her if his hat was in her car. Plaintiff searched her car and located the hat.
“When plaintiff inquired with the bar staff at defendant American Legion Post No. 19, she was informed that defendant Miller was under investigation for drugging, abducting and raping women,” the complaint states. “West Virginia State Police had knowledge of allegations that Trooper Miller was drugging, abducting and raping women, and West Virginia State Police took no action to stop or appropriately investigate Trooper Miller.”
She says the Logan County Sheriff’s Office also had similar knowledge of Miller and also took no action against him.
S.B. accuses the defendants of violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act and the West Virginia Human Trafficking Statute as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, misfeasance, nonfeasance, carelessness, malicious conduct and/or recklessness. She accuses the defendants other than Miller of negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision. She accuses the State Police and state agency defendants of violation of clearly established laws.
S.B. says she has suffered and will suffer physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, degradation, medical bills, loss of enjoyment of life, impairment of earning capacity and other injuries. She also says she has required and will require mental health and psychological therapy and counseling, medical therapy and counseling.
She seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
S.B. is being represented by diTrapano, Amanda Davis and Charles Bellomy of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by Forbes of Forbes Law Office in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
In the notice of intent to sue, attorneys for S.B. described her as “a loving mother of five beautiful children and a grandchild.”
“She cannot ever go back to work, she is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is in intense treatment and counselling in connection with the physical, mental, emotional and psychological injuries visited upon her by Miller.”
The letter also says the Federal Bureau of Investigations is aware of Miller’s “incomprehensible acts.”
The complaint also references at least one other similar incident involving Miller. The same attorneys representing S.B. also filed a Notice of Intent to Sue as well.
And, dozens of women and minors have filed notices of intent to sue regarding the use of hidden cameras in the women’s locker room at the State Police Training Academy in Institute.
“With all of the ongoing investigations into the State Police it’s time for the administration to take a hard look at what the failures of the agency may have caused not only in terms of individual damages to the victims, but to the agency as a whole,” Forbes said. “It’s past time to examine the impacts the State Police failures have had on the agency and on the public who needs to interact with and trust their police officers. This is a truly sad day for this victim and for the public as well.
“These type of actions by a West Virginia Trooper would shock the conscious of any West Virginian. They simply should never be accepted and, as the suit states, this victim seeks to hold them accountable not only for the destruction to her life, but also for the systemic failures that should have never happened. This is the stuff of nightmares, it has no place in a civilized society and it is very brave of this victim to step forward and hold her abusers and those that enabled him to account. While the victim is cooperating with and hopeful that the criminal justice system will hold those responsible to account, we are moving forward through the civil justice system to protect her rights and help shine light on this ongoing problem.”
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-407