A former Penobscot Job Corps student has sued the operators of the Bangor facility alleging that their failure to follow protocol allowed her to be repeatedly sexually assaulted in 2015 by a fellow student.
The 23-year-old South Berwick woman claims that on Nov. 20, 2015, she was allowed to leave the Union Street campus and go to a local motel where the alleged assault took place.
The Bangor Daily News does not identify victims of alleged sex crimes. The alleged attacker is not named in the lawsuit.
The woman is seeking unspecified damages for “serious personal injury, severe and permanent emotional and mental injuries, extreme pain and suffering, numerous medical procedures and therapies, continuing medical expenses, emotional distress and mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and lost wages and potential lost earning capacity.”
She claims that four companies that manage the federally funded, residential career training program were negligent in allowing her to leave a campus dorm overnight and go to a motel, which violated the center’s rules.
Information about whether the alleged assault was reported to campus authorities or Bangor police is not included in the five-page complaint.
The former Job Corps student sued the four out-of-state firms in May in York County Superior Court.
The companies, which run the facility under contract with the U.S. Department of Labor, are: Owl Companies of Irvine, California; Del-Jen Inc. of Clarksville, Tennessee; Career Systems Development Corp. of Henrietta, New York; and Fluor Corp., of Irving, Texas.
Their answers to the complaints are due July 12.
Alison Denham of Portland, who represents Owl Companies and Career Systems Development Corp., declined Wednesday to comment on the case.
The attorney for Del-Jen and Fluor, John Whitman of Portland, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Francis X. Quinn Jr. of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, earlier this week also declined to comment on the lawsuit.
If you or someone you know needs resources or support related to sexual violence, contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s 24/7 hotline at 800-871-7741.