A woman who contends she was impregnated at age 17 by a staffer overseeing her at a city of Denver crisis center in 2006 filed a notice of claim against the city Thursday seeking $2 million in damages.
Tyiesha Neeley, now 21, said she and her 3-year-old son are now homeless and need some help.
The city fired the staffer, Elliot Price, and he was convicted of attempted sexual assault by a person in a position of trust, according to court records. Price could not be reached for comment.
Neeley and her attorneys say Price has denied the child is his, but they said they have DNA tests that show there is a 99.9 percent chance he is the father.
The filing of the notice of claim, the first step in bringing a lawsuit against the city, states that Denver failed to “train, control and supervise” its employees at the crisis center.
Revekka Balancier, a spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Human Services, said the prospect of pending litigation constrained her from speaking about the case.
“The city has received the claim and is reviewing it,” Balancier said. “Beyond that I can’t give any specifics on any of clients or employees.”
Balancier said the city conducts criminal background checks on all applicants seeking a job at the center, checks references and strives to hire people with experience.
In the past three years, policies at the center have changed, she said, including updating camera surveillance and prohibiting staffers from staying at the facility when they are off duty.
Neeley’s attorneys, Glenn Younger and James Reed, appeared with Neeley and her son in front of the City and County Building to announce they were seeking compensation from the city. The claim seeks $2 million in damages “for past and future maintenance and medical expenses” for Neeley.
“We’re homeless now, and we just need some help,” Neeley said.
Civil rights activist Alvertis Simmons later walked the claim up to the office of Mayor John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper said he would have his chief of staff, Roxane White, contact Simmons.
“The mayor is running for governor of Colorado on a platform that says he cares about kids, and yet you have one right here, and he is homeless, and all this happened under the mayor’s watch,” Simmons said. “This mother and child need help.”
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
