Woman’s Rape on the Job May Leave City Liable

An Ohio woman can sue the city of North Ridgeville for hiring a man who later raped her on the job, the state Supreme Court ruled. Lisa Vacha had been working at the city’s French Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant for four years when Mayor G. David Gillock encouraged Charles Ralston, the father of two of his grandchildren, to apply for an open position there in 2004. At the time, Ralston was unemployed and behind on his child support. Though Gillock knew his daughter had called the police on Ralston twice for domestic violence, he did not know that Ralston had a criminal record. Ralston was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, assault and disorderly conduct between 1994 and 1999, but he truthfully stated on his job application that he did not have a felony record.