CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A third woman has filed suit against a former Kanawha County court bailiff in Charleston.
Cass Close, 54, was arrested in late July after a woman who was a detainee accused Close of sexually assaulting her on the 7th floor of the Kanawha County Judicial Annex Courthouse earlier in the month. The first victim was allegedly taken from her holding cell into Close’s office where the alleged sexual crime occurred. Close also allegedly took photos of the inmate.
Close was named in a second lawsuit in August that accused him of abusing another woman from 2023 up until this year. That victim alleges that Close sexually assaulted her and forced her to send and receive explicit and inappropriate pictures.
The latest suit that the victim’s attorney Jesse Forbes released Wednesday says Close sexually abused a Kanawha County woman in June that was brought to the courthouse from jail for a court hearing. Close allegedly began his conduct in the first floor holding area of the Judicial Annex Building and made sexually charged statements and threats against the woman after the hearing as well.
The suit went on to say that Close watched and made comments while the woman was using the restroom. He then allegedly forced himself on her against a table in the holding room and forced his hands into the victim’s pants. The alleged victim was handcuffed and wearing jail issued clothing while this occurred.
“What you have here is former Deputy Close being able to roam the back halls of the courthouse, roam the holding areas, and abuse female detainees in ways that are just unimaginable,” Forbes told MetroNews Wednesday. “You wouldn’t expect this to happen in a dark alley somewhere, it happened in the state’s largest courthouse. It’s shocking and it’s scary.”
“These are law enforcement officials. These are the people who are supposed to be there to stand between us and the darkness to protect our parents, protect our children and protect the vulnerable. No one is more vulnerable than someone that’s in handcuffs and shackles awaiting their day in court that’s dependent on that deputy for everything from a glass of water to the basic needs to go to the bathroom,” he continued.
Forbes says Close being able to go throughout the halls of the building and continually be allowed to have full control of detainees without supervision is unacceptable.
“There are a lot of questions here. This happened right behind judges’ offices and benches in the largest courthouse in the state. If it can happen there, it can happen everywhere,” said Forbes.
“What our client is hopeful for is that this will be a wakeup call and it will result in change,” he said.
Close was previously arraigned on his originally charges and bond was set at $100,000. He’s remains in the South Central Regional Jail.