CHARLESTON – A third woman has filed a civil lawsuit claiming a former Kanawha County deputy sheriff and bailiff sexually assaulted and abused her while in custody.
Close
The victim filed her complaint anonymously October 1 in federal court against Cass Close, the Kanawha County Commission and an unnamed deputy.
On July 29, Cass sexually assaulted and abused another woman while she was in custody at the courthouse. That civil complaint details how Cass made sexual comments to the woman before forcing her to perform sexual acts, exposing himself and taking photographs of her against her will.
The 54-year-old Close, who lives in Quick, was charged in the first case with imposition of sexual acts on persons incarcerated, detained or under supervision. He is being held in a regional jail. The West Virginia State Police is handling the investigation. The criminal complaint charging Close said he provided a confession to investigators, and Close was fired by the county and arrested by State Police.
A second similar civil complaint was filed in August by another woman.
Forbes (left), diTrapano
“We are extremely proud to represent this brave survivor who has come forward to expose the disturbing alleged conduct of former Deputy Sheriff Close and the asserted institutional failures that allowed these tragic events to take place,” Jesse Forbes, one of the attorneys representing all three plaintiffs in the cases, told The West Virginia Record. “Our client is standing up not only for herself but also for others that may have suffered such wrongs.”
The woman at the center of the latest complaint is a Kanawha County resident who was brought to the courthouse in custody from the regional jail for a circuit court hearing in June.
She says she first encountered Close in the first-floor holding area of the Kanawha County Judicial Annex while she awaited her hearing. She says Close complimented her on her hair and asked if she was a “real blond” and if she shaved her pubic area.
“He continued to make inappropriate sexual comments and asked if he could see her ‘pussy,’” the complaint states. “He followed her to the bathroom in the holding area, and instead of shutting the door for her to have privacy, he stood in the opened door to the bathroom cell and watched as she went to the bathroom.”
As he escorted the woman to her hearing via elevator, she says he stood “extremely and uncomfortably” close to her and asked if he could “put his fingers inside her vagina while invading her space and standing close to her in the elevator with only the two of them present.”
Back in the holding area, she says Close pushed her against a table, pressed his body against hers, opened a can of snuff and offered some to her.
“He then began stroking the back of plaintiff’s legs and lower body,” the complaint states. “Close … then forced his hands inside the back of plaintiff’s pants and underneath her underwear and fondled her private areas, all while she was handcuffed and shackled … Close then warned plaintiff not to tell anyone about what he had done.”
The woman says Close repeatedly and continuously failed to treat her in a humane manner, directed profane and abusive sexually hostile language toward her, inappropriately touched her, rubbed his body and genitals against her, sexually assaulted her and threatened her to keep silent. The complaint also says the unnamed deputy and bailiff failed to act to intervene or prevent Close’s improper actions, and it says the county was negligent in supervising, training and retaining Close as an employee.
“Horrific behavior such as this would be shocking in a darkly lit back alley, but to have a bailiff apparently able to run rampant through the back halls of the courthouse and allegedly abuse multiple detainees in the manner described is beyond comprehension,” Forbes told The Record. “These are the persons that are supposed to protect victims of crime, and stand between them and the darkness, not allow monsters in their ranks to prey on the vulnerable.”
“We very much appreciate the efforts of law enforcement and county officials in their investigation and response, but that is only one part of our nation’s system of justice, the civil system exists as a parallel track to hold wrongdoers responsible. We are moving forward to achieve accountability for this brave survivor and to ensure that the full measure of what occurred and who is responsible is brought to light.”
Dante diTrapano, another attorney representing these plaintiffs, agreed.
“This is sadly another example of the alleged deplorable and continuous conduct of former Deputy Close abusing detainees,” diTrapano told The Record. “Given this complaint and the other allegations, it is unsettling that Close was allegedly able to act with almost unfettered ability to perpetrate these alleged abuses.”
“These are some of the most vulnerable victims imaginable, and for him to allegedly be able to abuse them while they are cuffed and shackled in the very halls of justice that exist to right such wrongs is astonishing.
“It’s certainly a continuing black eye for law enforcement in our community, but we are hopeful that through the civil justice process the alleged missed safeguards will be corrected and these types of tragic events will never be allowed to occur again.”
By coming forward, diTrapano said the survivors of these alleged assaults continue to stand up not only for themselves but for all of those that might continue to be in danger.
“The shockwaves of this alleged conduct continue to rattle through our community and cry out for justice,” he said. “We look forward to assisting these brave survivors in their quest to achieve that very justice.”
As with the first two cases, the plaintiff seeks general, compensatory and punitive damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
She is being represented by Forbes and Jennifer N. Taylor of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston as well as by diTrapano, Amanda J. Davis and Timothy D. Houston of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:25-cv-00580
