NJ addiction clinic CEO raped employee, claims lawsuit: 'He even wanted to keep her panties in his pocket'

NEW JERSEY: A New Jersey addiction clinic CEO allegedly sexually assaulted a recovering alcoholic he had employed, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, April 14 in Middlesex County Superior Court. The incident occurred when the employee had relapsed and was in "a drunken stupor." 

The woman, identified as Andrea Pierce, a director at the Recovery Centers for America (RCA) in South Amboy, has claimed that the organization's CEO James Haggerty sexually assaulted her as she struggled with her sobriety, the lawsuit claimed. 

Pierce, 38, from Long Branch reportedly had an affair with Haggerty in the summer of 2019, only a few months after she started working at RCA. Reports state that Haggerty, 61, is married and is over 20 years her senior.

The court documents state that the CEO had allegedly promised to leave his wife for Pierce, and that the affair caused her to fall off the wagon. She was eventually admitted to a New Hampshire rehab. However, when Pierce came back, she attempted to separate herself from Haggerty, but she has alleged that he continued to flirt with her at work. The suit claimed that he asked her to bend over so he could see her butt, asked her for sexual favors, and nude pictures, and once asked her to take off her panties so he could keep them in his pocket.

The court papers charge that on two occasions, in November 2019 and on March 9 this year, when Pierce relapsed, Haggerty allegedly had sex with her "while she was in a drunken stupor and unable to consent." Shortly after the March incident, Pierce reported it to the Long Branch Police Department and got a rape kit at the hospital. The 38-year-old "spent the next several days drinking alcohol and crying non-stop" and checked herself into another detox facility, according to her suit. 

She reportedly remained in the facility from March 19 through March 25, and has been on leave from work ever since. 

Pierce claimed that she faced retaliation at work when she reported the incident and has "been threatened with adverse employment action, including termination," the suit alleges.

The 38-year-old, while talking to the New York Post, said: "I had this perfect job, and I love what I do. I love helping people and that is just gone now … I stay in bed all day and I cry." Pierce, who is suing for unspecific damages, added that she felt trapped in her situation. "I would go to work everyday and do what I had to do. I am a professional woman. I am very educated but he diminished that," she told the outlet.

Pierce's lawyer, Peter Valenzano, also released a statement on the incident, saying: "RCA willingly and indifferently allowed CEO James Haggerty to repeatedly harass, humiliate, and sexually assault Ms Pierce. After reporting this behavior to the company, Ms Pierce was subject to retaliation designed to oust her from her role."

Meanwhile, RCA, in a statement, claimed that it was recently made aware of Pierce's claims and that firm has launched a full investigation into the incident.