The four women who pursued civil battery claims against former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill Jr. for the past five years dropped their lawsuit mere hours before jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday morning in Indianapolis.
Court records show the case filed by former state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, along with Niki DaSilva, Samantha Lozano and Gabrielle McLemore, was dismissed with prejudice at the request of the litigants — meaning the lawsuit is permanently extinguished and cannot be re-filed against Hill.
In a statement issued by the plaintiffs' lawyers, the women said they concluded a trial would not lead to Hill "accepting responsibility for his actions" and would do nothing to change the culture of "rampant sexual harassment involving lawmakers and senior government officials" at the Indiana Statehouse.
"After so many years of watching numerous state and federal courts, an inspector general, a special prosecutor, and many other government institutions acknowledge that we truthfully reported our experience of Hill’s reprehensible behavior, and yet declined to impose a meaningful sanction, we decided that, even if we won at trial, we would not accomplish our goals of causing meaningful change in the way sexual harassment claims are handled for those working in and around the Statehouse," McLemore said.
The women alleged Hill touched each of them on their backs or buttocks, without their consent, during a late-night celebration at an Indianapolis bar following the March 15 adjournment of the 2018 General Assembly.
According to court records, Special Prosecutor Daniel Sigler declined to file criminal charges against Hill in 2018 after Sigler determined he could not successfully make the case that Hill's actions amounted to either a felony or misdemeanor crime.
Nevertheless, the five Republican-appointed justices of the Indiana Supreme Court temporarily suspended Hill's law license in 2020 after the court concluded Hill violated the professional conduct rules for Hoosier attorneys by committing acts of misdemeanor battery against the women, records show.
The civil lawsuit subsequently filed by the women seems to have derailed Hill's political career. While it's been pending, Hill was denied renomination as attorney general at the 2020 Republican State Convention, lost a 2022 Republican caucus election for the U.S. House, and came in last place in the 2024 Republican primary for Indiana governor.
Hill said in a statement issued Monday the case against him was resolved with no financial settlement or any other conditions — "ending this odyssey of unfounded allegations that have dogged me for nearly seven years and have served as the fuel for political and personal attacks against me."
"Ever since these false allegations were first leaked to the press, we have been determined to make our case to a fair and impartial jury, confident in the truth and certain that justice would prevail. Finally, after several years of needless delay by the plaintiffs, a jury was ready to hear the case and the plaintiffs folded," Hill said.
"The plaintiffs' action in dropping this lawsuit at the last minute is a further testament to the strength and merit of our case. From this ordeal, I have gained wisdom from God and remain committed to fighting for truth and justice."
Hill spent 14 years as Elkhart County prosecutor prior to winning election in 2016 as Indiana attorney general — earning the most votes of any candidate on the ballot that year.
Republican Lt. Gov-elect Micah Beckwith said Monday that Hill's popularity, along with his success in keeping an acknowledgement that Indiana families include same-sex couples raising children out of the 2018 Republican party platform, spurred "the Indiana ruling-class elite" to subject Hill to a "character assassination witch hunt."
"Curtis embodied the MAGA movement, and just like we saw with President Trump, he was targeted by those in power who would do anything to keep it," Beckwith said.
"I'm thankful for courageous leaders like President Trump and Curtis Hill who don’t back down in the face of lawfare and lies. It’s a new day in America! God is exposing all the hypocrites, the cowards, and those who bear false witness!"
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