Village of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard and renowned Chicago-area activist Andrew Holmes are defendants in a civil suit over their alleged involvement in a sexual assault that took place during a trip to Las Vegas.
The lawsuit claims that Holmes sexually assaulted a Village of Dolton employee in 2023 while on that trip. It also alleges that Mayor Henyard retaliated against the employee and a police officer after hearing about those allegations.
The suit was filed on Monday by a Dolton police officer and a former member of Mayor Henyard’s security detail, along with the woman who alleges Holmes sexually assaulted her.
News of this suit comes just two days after the Village of Dolton appointed former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate the embattled Henyard. Lightfoot, a former federal investigator, will look into these allegations and others swirling around Henyard, the self-proclaimed “Super Mayor” of the South Suburban Chicago municipality.
On top of the civil suit, Dolton trustees approved a resolution in late February requesting a federal investigation of Henyard over allegations that she misused village funds and credit cards, made unauthorized payments to vendors, and withheld payment for approved invoices.
Henyard is also a Thornton Township trustee.
These allegations stand in stark contrast to Holmes’s role as a community activist and crisis interventionist. Holmes is well known for his work aiding families impacted by violence throughout the city. He could be seen on local news reports consoling those impacted parties and even serving as a spokesperson on their behalf.
According to this report by ABC 7 Chicago, the Las Vegas trip occurred in May 2023 and included Henyard, Holmes and various Dolton and Thornton Township employees.
The civil complaint emerges from what allegedly occurred on the last night of the trip when Officer Bryon Miles received a phone call from Holmes, who described “a host of his exploits from the trip, many of a sexual nature.” According to the suit, there was some suggestion that the unnamed woman who may have been the victim of the assault “may not have had the ability to consent and/or did not provide consent.”
The complaint states that Officer Miles began recording the call, which he eventually switched to FaceTime.
The suit also states that when they returned to Dolton, Officer Miles believed that the alleged victim was unaware of what had happened and informed her.
Moreover, during a subsequent meeting with Henyard, the mayor said, “If the information got out, Henyard would be ruined, and all of the work she had done would be lost.”
Following these events, as per the lawsuit, the alleged victim, whom Henyard employed, lost her job shortly after, and Officer Miles was removed from the mayor’s security detail. The lawsuit accuses Henyard of retaliation based on these actions.
ABC 7 Chicago contributed to this report.
This story is developing.