Robert J. Dole Courthouse in Kansas City, Kan. (Photo courtesy Google Maps)
Updated Wednesday, 5:12 p.m.
CORRECTION: Tuesday’s version of this story said the alleged rape took place in Kansas City, Kan. That is incorrect and took place in Riley County. According to a Wednesday report by the Manhattan Mercury, the case was filed in a federal court in Kansas City due to the defendant’s former employment with the RCPD.
A former Riley County police officer is being sued for allegedly raping a former K-State student last year after he gave her a ride home from a party.
According to court documents viewed by KMAN, the civil lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on June 2. Aaron Wright is named as the former officer.
According to a complaint form filed by the woman’s attorney, the events took place following a birthday party on June 3, 2016.
RCPD Public Information Officer Alexander Robinson told KMAN Tuesday morning that Wright — who Robinson declined to name Tuesday — was off-duty at the time and he was no longer an RCPD employee. The RCPD is not named in the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, the woman is identified as “Jane Doe E.F.”
According to social media, Wright’s employment with the RCPD ended in December 2016. He began his employment with the department in 1999. Before that, he was also a patrol officer for the Wamego Police Department from 1995-1999.
The complaint says Wright was fired from the RCPD for “violating a morals clause that prohibits sexual relations outside of his marriage.”
Wright is now listed as an independent contractor for the Armed Forces Benefits Network. A Facebook post indicates he served in the first Gulf War and lived in South Korea in 1993.
The complaint states the woman had between five and 10 drinks and accepted his offer for a ride home “in large part because Wright was a law enforcement officer and was in a position of trust.” The suit further alleges the officer knew the woman was intoxicated and “legally incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse.”
From there, the complaint alleges Wright “pushed Plaintiff against a wall and sexually assaulted Plaintiff.” It adds he “then tied Plaintiff’s wrists to her bed and forced Plaintiff to have sexual intercourse with him.”
The complaint says Wright’s conduct was “extreme and outrageous, criminal, beyond the bounds of decency, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.”
The woman is seeking $75,000 in damages, citing emotional distress, anxiety, special damages in the form of medical and psychological bills, and lost wages.