Woman's suit against Bluffs Police Chief moves forward

Scottsbluff Police Chief Alex Moreno

A Scottsbluff woman's sexual harassment suit against the city of Scottsbluff and Scottsbluff Police Chief Alex Moreno will continue.

Tamara Villanueva's suit claims she and Moreno had a relationship after she sought Police help with a domestic situation and that the chief harassed her when the relationship ended. Villanueva, a contact person for a neighborhood watch program, also claims the police department ignored her harassment reports, resulting in the court denying her request for a protection order against Moreno.

In a ruling filed Monday, Federal District Judge Richard Kopf (Cup) denied a motion by the defendants to dismiss Villanueva's claims that the police violated her due process and equal protection rights by failing to follow-up on her complaints of domestic abuse by her husband.

But the court did narrow the scope for Villanueva's claim that Moreno took advantage of her emotional state of mind as a domestic abuse victm when he engaged in a sexual relationship with her.

Kopf said Villanueva's claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress can only be made against Moreno individually. The court also dismissed any claim by Villanueva for punitive damages against the city of Scottsbluff or Moreno in his capacity as Police Chief.

© 2013 Rural Radio Network. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information