Woman says former Paso Robles cop raped her. She just won a $1.25 million settlement

An alleged sexual assault victim will receive $1.25 million after settling a federal lawsuit against the city of Paso Robles and a former police sergeant she accused of raping her.

The woman and her attorneys filed the lawsuit against the city and former Sgt. Christopher McGuire in December 2019 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit claimed McGuire raped her in 2017 after he responded to a domestic violence call at her home.

The Tribune does not identify potential sexual assault victims to protect their safety and privacy.

The woman said McGuire later tried to sexually assault her again. She also accused him of harassing her and attempting to intimidate her into silence by threatening to have her children taken away.

The lawsuit also claimed the city turned a blind eye to McGuire’s conduct and allowed police employees accused of sexual assault to resign rather than face termination.

McGuire’s attorneys did not respond to The Tribune’s requests for comment.

Who will pay the settlement?

The California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (CJPIA) will ultimately pay the $1.25 million, not Paso Robles, city manager Ty Lewis told The Tribune in an email. The insurance company also picked up the city’s $356,810 expert and legal fee bill, Lewis said.

The woman, Paso Robles and McGuire filed the settlement on Aug. 31, and the CJPIA approved it on Sept. 29, court records show.

The City Council discussed the lawsuit in closed session on Sept. 7, the meeting agenda shows. However, Elizabeth Hull, interim city attorney, told the public there was no reportable action following the closed session.

“The council was advised of a potential settlement of the litigation by the CJPIA,” Lewis said. “At the time of the closed session the settlement was not final and the city is not the settling authority so there was no reportable action by the city following the closed session meeting. The case was settled by the CJPIA, and the payment was made by the CJPIA. The city did not pay any portion of the settlement.”

Sheriff’s Office investigated McGuire in 2018

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office in 2018 investigated several claims of sexual misconduct against McGuire, including the rape allegations from the woman who filed the lawsuit.

A Sheriff’s Office report showed two other women also claimed McGuire had engaged in sexual activity with them while he was on duty. One of the women said McGuire asked her to flash her breasts during a 2015 arrest in exchange for letting her go.

The Sheriff’s Office recommended county District Attorney Dan Dow file forcible rape charges against McGuire stemming from the sexual assault allegations made by the victim involved in the lawsuit.

However, Dow in November 2018 declined to prosecute McGuire, claiming there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the sexual contact was not consensual.

The Paso Robles Police Department placed McGuire on paid administrative leave in May 2018, and he later resigned in October of that year.

Lewis, who was then Paso Robles police chief, told The Tribune in 2018 that the department didn’t continue its internal investigation into McGuire after he was no longer an employee. Instead, they relied on reviews from the Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices.

Alleged victim’s court battles

After the criminal investigation into McGuire ended, the alleged rape victim and her attorneys initially pursued a civil lawsuit against Paso Robles at the state level in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

Attorney Brian Claypool filed a claim against Paso Robles — a required precursor to a civil lawsuit — in March 2019. The city rejected the claim, which typically would have paved the way for the woman and Claypool to file suit.

However, they didn’t file the claim until after the six-month statute of limitations had expired, meaning they needed to petition the court to release them from the normal process. Claypool argued McGuire’s threats and the woman’s lack of knowledge about the civil lawsuit process, among other factors, made it challenging for her to meet the claim-filing deadline.

In August 2019, Superior Court Judge Ginger Garrett declined to grant the petition, saying Claypool didn’t file the claim until two months after the woman first consulted with him in December 2018. In addition, the woman’s cooperation with the Sheriff’s Office investigation that began in May 2018 convinced Garrett she had the opportunity to file her claim before the deadline.

“As counsel for both parties noted at the hearing, the allegations in the petition, if true, are horrific,” Garrett wrote in her decision. “Petitioner’s allegations invoke the utmost sympathy and desire for justice. However, the court is bound to follow the statutory authority and supporting case law in finding there is no excusable neglect warranting the grant of the petition.”

The woman and Claypool appealed the decision to the state’s Second District Court of Appeals, but they lost again in August 2021.

Paso Robles, alleged victim reach ‘a fair settlement’

After Garrett’s initial ruling, the woman and Claypool opted to pursue the federal lawsuit.

Claypool told The Tribune that he and his client were satisfied with the settlement they ultimately reached with McGuire and Paso Robles, as the case would have been more challenging to pursue at the federal level than at the state level. He said the money will help his client “move on with her life.”

“We think it is a fair settlement, given the circumstances,” Claypool said. “I mean, the city’s paying over seven figures.”

Claypool said the case wasn’t just about McGuire’s alleged actions against the woman — it was also meant to draw attention to the fact that the city needs to institute better vetting, supervision and training in its Police Department.

“It was a very important case, and we took it on to bring about social awareness and change,” Claypool said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 12:48 PM.