Woman alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted, sues DA’s Office, former top prosecutor

Syracuse, N.Y. ― A former prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office and her former superior, alleging she was sexually harassed, assaulted and retaliated against.

Cayley Young, a former assistant district attorney, is suing her former employer, former chief homicide prosecutor Shaun Chase and current senior assistant district attorney Alphonse Williams.

In the lawsuit filed Friday, Young is alleging that Chase groomed, sexually harassed and eventually sexually assaulted her in November 2022.

She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Chase after running into him at a downtown Syracuse bar on Nov. 23, 2022.

In a statement Monday, Chase said he “categorically and unequivocally” denies the accusations.

“I have not engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct, quid pro quo harassment, or any form of sexual assault or retaliation towards [Young] or any other colleague,” he wrote.

Young alleges that the office knew or should have known about the harassment and subsequent assault, according to the lawsuit Young filed herself in Onondaga County Supreme Court. The lawsuit alleges the office should have protected her from a hostile work environment.

After Young reported the assault, she alleges in the lawsuit she was retaliated against and further harassed by Williams.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Monday the lawsuit is “complete fiction.”

“This was a consensual sexual relationship between two adults that I found out about, didn’t approve of and took decisive action regarding,” Fitzpatrick said. “She’s trying now to cover up for her own malfeasance that night.”

Young told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard she never had a consensual sexual relationship with Chase.

Fitzpatrick said that as soon as Young reported the alleged sexual assault, he suspended Chase, appointed a special prosecutor and had Syracuse police investigate the allegations. He said Young was facing discipline for her conduct as the on-call prosecutor that night. Young said she was never told she was facing any kind of discipline.

He said the special prosecutor and police found there was no evidence to support her assault allegations.

“I would be very surprised if she has a license to practice law after the Grievance Committee investigates the truth of this lawsuit,” Fitzpatrick said.

Chase resigned from the DA’s office in December 2022 before the investigation of Young’s allegations was completed, Fitzpatrick said.

Young told Syracuse.com | The Post Standard the special prosecutor, Laurie Lisi, told her there were evidentiary issues with the case but it was “50/50″ on whether they could pursue criminal charges. The case was closed in 2023, Young said. Lisi did not respond to requests for comment.

Young, who was 26 at the time, first reported her discomfort about being around Chase, who was 40 at the time, to her direct supervisor in August 2022, according to the lawsuit.

Chase had taken Young to the scene of a double homicide, which the lawsuit describes as “well beyond” the scope of a new attorney. New assistant district attorneys do not handle homicide cases; they normally work on less serious cases.

Chase continued to update her on the case and Young told her supervisor, Anthony Mangovski, she felt Chase was possibly grooming her, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges Mangovski refused to take action unless Young was willing to meet with Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick about her concerns. Young did not meet with Fitzpatrick because she was “unerved” by Mangovski’s attitude toward her concerns, she wrote.

Mangovski told Syracuse.com | The Post Standard he was not going to comment on the lawsuit while the legal process was playing out.

Another assistant district attorney, Nicole Venator, told Young that she had reported Chase to Mangovski for appearing to have “nonconsensual sexual relations” with an administrative assistant, according to the lawsuit.

Venator said Mangovski would not take action unless the assistant reported the incident directly, according to the lawsuit.

Venator did not respond to requests for comment.

Fitzpatrick said he had never received a report about any prior misconduct by Chase. He said he does not get involved in rumors within the office.

Venator also told Young that Chase made life “hell” for another ADA who reported his inappropriate conduct with the administrative assistant, according to the lawsuit.

In fall 2022, the lawsuit alleges Chase began monitoring Young’s work hours and would make sexual advances if she was working late and the office was empty.

He would make comments that Young’s clothes would look better on his office floor, the lawsuit alleges.

Doug Eaton, Young’s fiancé at the time, told Syracuse.com | The Post Standard Monday that he witnessed inappropriate texts sent by Chase to Young. He said she was told to “play along” to avoid retaliation. Eaton said Young told him she could handle the advances and would avoid letting them get too far.

Chase told Young he could “fast-track her career” if she reciprocated his advances, according to the lawsuit.

Around 1 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2022, Chase sent a “vanishing mode” message on Instagram asking Young to have sex with him, the lawsuit said.

On Nov. 16, 2022, Chase asked Young to help “break in the springs on his new office chair,” the lawsuit said.

Throughout that day, Chase continued to ask Young to come to his office for a private meeting, according to the lawsuit.

Young wrote in the lawsuit that she believed if she placated Chase, he might stop.

When she went into his office, he closed the door and pulled her on top of him and kissed her, according to the lawsuit.

Young pulled away and told Chase she was not interested in a physical relationship because she was engaged, according to the lawsuit.

On Nov. 23, 2022, Young was on call with Chase as her supervisor.

That night, Young went out to dinner with a group of friends in downtown Syracuse. The group continued on to The York restaurant and bar. Young told her friends she would have one drink and head home as she was on call.

Eaton said he received a text from Young around 10:40 p.m. that night saying she would be heading home soon. That was the last he heard from her that night.

Fitzpatrick said there was evidence Young had been drinking at work that day and drank before heading to The York, while on call. Young said she may have had drinks at lunch with others from work that day. She said she also had drinks while at dinner but was not drunk.

Once at The York, she ran into Chase, she said in the lawsuit. He told her that he would not get her in trouble for drinking while on call if she had a drink with him, the lawsuit said.

“I should not have been drinking but [Chase] used his position to scare me and manipulate the situation,” Young said.

Chase got her a martini and cornered her in the bar, according to the lawsuit.

“[Young] took several sips then experienced a warm, fuzzy feeling and everything became hot and dark,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges the next thing Young remembers is waking up in Chase’s home, naked and next to Chase who was only in boxers.

“Chase woke up and stated, ‘don’t worry, you enjoyed yourself,’” according to the lawsuit.

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard filed a freedom of information request for the police reports regarding the incident. Syracuse police have not fulfilled the request.

After not hearing from Young for hours, Eaton called 911 to report her missing, he said.

Joseph Coolican, the first chief assistant district attorney, was contacted after the 911 call was made, Coolican said.

Young had missed several calls on her work phone and Chase coached her on what to say to First Chief Joseph Coolican so she would not get in trouble, according to the lawsuit.

Coolican told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard Monday that when he got in contact with Young, she was making excuses about where she was.

In the lawsuit, Young wrote that she believed that if she went to the hospital for a “rape kit,” it would be reported to the police and to Chase, due to his connection to law enforcement. She did not go to the hospital or immediately report the incident to police.

On Nov. 29, Young again reported Chase to Mangovski and told him she was ready to tell the DA, she said in the lawsuit.

Mangovski refused to sit with her as she made a report and said “Godspeed,” according to the lawsuit.

Young reported the incident to Coolican and Fitzpatrick, according to the lawsuit. Fitzpatrick said she reported that she may have been roofied and assaulted by Chase.

Fitzpatrick said he offered to give Young time off, access to counseling and encouraged her to go to the rape crisis center to get a rape kit or any other support she needed.

Young said Fitzpatrick did take action immediately and was one of the only people who made her feel like she wasn’t making it up.

Chase was suspended and ultimately resigned, Fitzpatrick said. He now works as a criminal defense attorney in the Cerio Law Offices in Syracuse.

Before his resignation, Young said he spread rumors about Young in the office, according to the lawsuit.

After Chase’s resignation, the lawsuit alleges Williams harassed Young by pretending to zip up his pants whenever he walked by her.

He also loudly announced that any woman who met with him in his office would have to consent to being recorded so he would not be fired for false accusations, according to the lawsuit.

Coolican told Young there was nothing he could do about Williams’ “retaliatory harassment,” according to the lawsuit.

In a written statement Monday, Williams vehemently denies the accusations. He said, “if she is a victim” of assault, he hopes she gets justice. He said that the allegations against him are “fictional.”

“While I respect and support Ms. Young’s right to pursue justice, I will never stand for lies, deceit, and an attempted assassination of my character,” Williams wrote.

Young said in the lawsuit that she was encouraged by Coolican to take time off work to collect herself.

While Young was away from the office, she developed intense symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression when contemplating returning to work, she said in the lawsuit.

She ultimately decided to resign, according to the lawsuit.

She has worked in two law offices since she left the DA’s office, she said. She said she is no longer working after she was forced to resign from Costello, Cooney and Fearon last week.

She said the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office contacted the law office last week after she sent them a letter asking for a settlement before she filed the lawsuit.

Fitzpatrick described the letter as an “extortion attempt.”

She emailed Fitzpatrick asking for $350,000 to settle the case without litigation. She said she needed the money to treat Lupus, which was triggered by the stress she suffered from this incident. Severe stress and PTSD can increase women’s odds of developing Lupus, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

In the letter to the DA’s office, she wrote that her claim could be worth seven figures due to the negative health and mental effects she has suffered. The lawsuit was filed just before the statute of limitations would have expired on Monday.

Young said she decided to file the lawsuit now because she developed Lupus and will have to undergo extensive medical treatment. She also said she believes that others have been affected by the culture of the office and wanted to bring it to light.

“So many people have been hurt by that office and people deserve to have a voice and deserve to know what their taxpayer dollars are actually going towards,” she said.