Lawsuit: Damar Services

“A young woman claims Damar Services neglected its duty to protect her from sexual abuse by one of its former employees, according to a lawsuit filed this week in Marion Superior Court.

The 19-year-old, listed in court documents as A.C., is suing the Indianapolis-based nonprofit for negligence. She argues Damar Services failed to properly background, train and monitor former employee Wylok “Katie” Stonebraker, court records state.

Stonebraker, now 28, pleaded guilty in 2013 to felony sexual misconduct with a minor for a situation involving A.C., who had been living in Damar’s residential facility. Damar Services provides a variety of services to people with autism, behavioral issues, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A.C. had been diagnosed with depressive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, bipolar disorder, and alcohol and marijuana abuse, her attorney Tim Rowe said. She also had been sexually abused as a child and placed into foster care.

In 2012, Stonebraker was supposed to drive A.C., then 15, to an appointment to get her medication, Rowe said. Instead, Stonebraker brought A.C. along when she met up with her boyfriend to have sex. Stonebraker also invited another man, Marcus Moorman, and encouraged A.C. to have sex with him, Marion Superior Court records state.

A.C. warned Moorman that she was 15 so he might not want to “mess with” her, according to records filed in Stonebraker’s criminal case. He was 25. They had sex, court records state.

That situation and others occurred in February and March of 2012, according to police records.

Damar Services fired Stonebraker on May 7, 2012, for violating its rules on client-employee boundaries.

It is unclear whether the Indianapolis woman was fired for the situation relating to A.C. or misconduct with other children at Damar’s facility. Her criminal court records noted allegations of misconduct involving four other children at Damar.

A month after Stonebraker was fired, she was charged with felony counts of child seduction for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old boy at Damar’s facility, according to Marion Superior Court records. A few months later, she was charged with felony sexual misconduct with a minor for the situation involving A.C.

In 2013, Stonbraker pleaded guilty to felony charges in both cases and was sentenced to four years of home detention, followed by four years of probation. Moorman pleaded to felony sexual misconduct with a minor for having sex with A.C., court records state. He was sentenced to 1½ years of probation.

Jim Dalton, president and CEO of Damar Services, told The Indianapolis Star that the nonprofit did a background check on Stonebraker when she was hired in 2011, but it didn’t reveal any criminal history. He said Damar employees reported their concerns to the Indiana Department of Child Services in 2012 and cooperated with authorities’ criminal investigation.

“We remain deeply saddened by the incidents that occurred in 2012 involving former employee Wylok Stonebraker,” Dalton said in a written statement. “Our primary concern continues to be for the safety and well-being of those we serve — including those clients impacted by this former employee’s actions. The past behavior of this single former employee does not — in any way — reflect the values and mission of this organization and the hundreds of honest, caring and hardworking individuals that serve Damar’s mission.”

Rowe, of the law firm Rowe & Hamilton, said Damar Services is responsible for what happened to A.C. because the nonprofit failed to follow its own policies, including not allowing employees to be alone with children in its care. He said A.C., who already had been victimized as a child, was victimized again.

“This is probably the most egregious case that I’ve seen,” Rowe said.”

Lawsuit: Damar Services neglected to protect teen from sexual abuse [Indianapolis Star 12/25/15 by Marisa Kwaikowski]

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