The civil case names Five Rivers MetroParks (FRMP), human resources director Debra Jackson, executive director Rebecca Benná, the organization’s board and Butts, a 28-year employee who was most recently an assistant volunteer services manager. Butts was fired Sept. 5, 2013.
Plaintiff Brian Johnson claims in the civil lawsuit that Butts in Jan. 5, 2012 told Johnson he was “undressing him with his eyes,” asked Johnson to call him and, as Butts left, squeezed Johnson’s buttock.
“I’m not going to be anybody’s victim,” Johnson said about the decision to press charges and file the suit. “I feel that MetroParks should have done more than what they had done.”
Johnson claims Butts again sexually solicited him June 7, 2012 while Butts was escorting two adolescents as part of the JET program in conjunction with Ohio State University.
“MetroParks strives for excellence in serving our community and it is truly unfortunate that there was such a negative experience with one of our former employees,” Benná said in a prepared statement. “We have long-standing policies and procedures in place that all employees are required to adhere to when interacting with the public and other employees; and they receive periodic training and updates on those policies and procedures. As soon as MetroParks became aware of the complaint, immediate action was taken. We are confident that MetroParks took all reasonable and appropriate measures in this situation.”
The suit claims Johnson let FRMP officials know what happened, but that nothing beyond Jackson’s June 12, 2012 “internal investigation” was done until Johnson spoke to a FRMP detective on July 19, 2013.
“The investigation was never given to legal authorities to do a complete and full investigation of what transpired, until Plaintiff Johnson went to the legal authorities himself, after several requests that something be done,” the civil suit said. “He should have been terminated immediately but instead remained as an employee of Defendant FRMP until September 2013.”
The Dayton Daily News reviewed Butts’ and Jackson’s personnel files and found proof of an internal investigation. Butts had mostly positive job performance reviews and he was making $26.86 per hour when he was fired.
Jackson’s file contained no disciplinary action against her, but does mention that she takes an “active role in resolving conflicts.” Jackson did have her hourly pay rate reduced from$41.79 to $41.38 because she mistakenly got a 2-percent raise instead of a 1-percent raise in 2012, the most recent review available. She started at $24.02 per hour in 1999.
On July 11, 2012, Butts signed a “Last Chance Agreement” in which he agreed that FRMP had proper cause to discipline or discharge him for his admitted behavior of “immoral conduct and inappropriate behavior, sexual harassment.” Butts also was suspended without pay for 30 days and not allowed at the Second Street Market.
A July 17, 2012 Five Rivers MetroParks police report states Johnson initially refused to file a police report and that all he wanted was an apology. The officer wrote he told Jackson about the situation and “she advised me that she would handle it.” Two days later, another report said Johnson did want to file charges.
A FRMP follow-up investigation dated Aug. 20, 2013 states that Butts at first said he patted Johnson on the back and then changed his mind to say he did pat Johnson on the buttocks, “Like a cup, a gentle pat.”
The MetroParks’ attorneys have filed motions to have the civil suit dismissed. Other court documents allege Johnson had discussions about the situation with Alan Pippenger, who allegedly said Butts was not terminated in 2012 because “he had been an employee for so long.”
A document written July 2, 2012 by Butts’ supervisor, Kevin Kepler, said Butts had “violated several MetroParks rules.” In a letter from Jackson to Butts dated Sept. 5, 2013, Jackson told Butts, “you lied concerning the events that took place in the complaint I received from Mr. Johnson.”
In 2013, former FRMP employee Byron Layman was indicted for downloading child pornography to a computer owned by the parks system from February to November 2010 when Layman was a part-time education assistant.
Layman was placed on unpaid leave on March 16, 2010. He resigned before he could be confronted. The illegal behavior allegedly occurred on two dates in 2010 while Layman had access to a computer at Germantown MetroPark. MetroParks Rangers officials said the case took several years to get to a grand jury because the forensic analysis of the computers took some time. Layman was placed on probation in July 2013.
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