A former volunteer for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s 2017 campaign recently settlement her claim in a sexual assault case she filed against the campaign, the state of New Jersey, and a campaign staffer she claims assaulted her.

Katie Brennan’s Lawsuit and Settlement

Plaintiff Katie Brennan filed her lawsuit against campaign worker and state employee Al Alvarez following a 2017 encounter at Brennan’s apartment that Brennan claims was a sexual assault.

At the time, Brennan was volunteering for Phil Murphy’s gubernatorial campaign and Alvarez was one of Murphy’s staffers. Brennan says that soon after her alleged assault, she notified law enforcement, hospital workers, and high-level officials within Murphy’s organization. However, she claims that she was dismissed three times by the campaign, and that police notified her that they would not be pressing charges Alvarez, who claims that the sexual encounter was consensual.

The settlement agreement includes a $1 million payment to Brennan, in addition to other terms. Although Alvarez has not admitted any guilt under the terms of the settlement, he will be required to take an anti-sexual harassment class, as well as participate in a restorative justice process with Brennan. The latter has said that she will donate the money to a charity that provides free legal services to low-income people.

In addition to the substantial monetary settlement, Brennan’s lawsuit also resulted in the New Jersey Attorney General investigating how police in the state handle sexual assault cases and exposed state policies that may unfairly affect sexual assault survivors. According to the terms of the settlement, the state will be required to change its policies to allow survivors to bring a support person with them to interviews and investigations.

Katie Brennan also suggested more than 20 ways the state can improve its laws and policies around sexual harassment and assault to make it easier for survivors to hold their perpetrators accountable. The ideas included requiring political campaigns to have written sexual harassment and anti-discrimination policies, mechanisms for reporting an assault, and anti-discrimination and harassment training for both paid and unpaid staff.

She has also suggested that the state of New Jersey amend its harassment and discrimination policy for state workers to require all reasonable claims to be investigated in a timely manner.

New Jersey Sexual Assault Laws

New Jersey recently expanded its statute of limitations to give sexual assault survivors like Katie Brennan more time to pursue justice or compensation for their experiences.

Under the new laws, survivors who were abused as children have until age 55 to pursue charges against their abusers; and survivors who were assaulted as adults have seven years from the time they realized the abuse harmed them.

In addition to expanding the time frame for survivors to sue individuals, the new laws also allow them to pursue charges against organizations or institutions that covered up the abuse or allowed it to occur. The expansion to the laws also includes a two-year lookback window for survivors to reopen cases that had already expired.

If you are a sexual assault or abuse survivor in New Jersey, you may be eligible to speak with an experienced attorney about your legal options. Some survivors may be eligible to pursue compensation or accountability from the individuals or organizations that allowed the abuse to occur.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.