BATAVIA — A woman has filed a $15 million federal lawsuit accusing Clermont County's chief public defender, R. Daniel Hannon, of sexually assaulting her twice last year in a private Batavia law office.

        The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati this week, seeks a total of $15 million in damages from Mr. Hannon, attorney Douglas Ball, the Clermont County commissioners and the Clermont County Public Defender Commission.

        The 33-year-old woman continues to suffer from severe emotional distress from last year's alleged attacks, said her lawyer, John H. Phillips of Montgomery.

        “Her life has been essentially destroyed because of this,” he said.

        An employee at Mr. Hannon's office in Batavia said Tuesday that Mr. Hannon would not comment on the lawsuit.

        Last year, a Clermont County grand jury declined to indict Mr. Hannon on criminal charges stemming from the allegations.

        At that time, Mr. Hannon, director of the public defender's office, said he and the woman had a consensual sexual relationship.

        The lawsuit says Mr. Ball, who had been the woman's employer and is a lawyer with the public defender's office, failed to take action after she told him about the first alleged assault, and then fired her because she pursued criminal charges against Mr. Hannon and would not submit to Mr. Hannon's sexual advances.

        Mr. Ball's office issued a statement saying that he denies all allegations and that it would not be appropriate for him to comment beyond that.

        The lawsuit says the county commissioners and the public defender commission are legally liable because Mr. Hannon is a county employee and he used his position as public defender to gain access to the office where the woman worked during his normal working hours.

        “The horrible thing about this,” Mr. Phillips said, “is they did nothing to investigate and to determine who was right and who was wrong and did nothing to protect her.”

        Clermont County Administrator David Spinney said he could not comment about the lawsuit because he had not seen it.

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