Westmoreland County pays $10K to settle suit by woman who says man assaulted her in sheriff's car

Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved a $10,000 lawsuit settlement in which a Vandergrift woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by a male passenger in the back seat of a sheriff's car taking them to jail.

The federal lawsuit was filed last year against the county, the sheriff's department and two deputies who transported Bonnie Czar to jail after she was arrested June 9, 2017, on assault charges.

Czar, 59, claimed in the lawsuit she was shackled and placed into the back seat of the sheriff's car next to another suspect who was not buckled in with a seatbelt.

Czar contended that male suspect leaned over and kissed and licked her thigh and made lewd comments about sexual acts.

Czar contended she was a survivor of previous assaults and the incident in the sheriff's car created feelings of anxiety, emotional distress and sleepless nights.

She accused the sheriff's department of operating with a policy that did not call for the back seat passengers to be separated by a partition and failed to require the suspects of different genders to use a seat belt.

Deputies Lacy Saxton and Jacob Yackovich were named as defendants in the lawsuit. Sheriff Jonathan Held was not named as defendant.

Held said Thursday that Saxton still works as a deputy sheriff. Yackovich no longer works in the office.

“This case was settled for the simple reason that it was more cost effective to pay this amount to the plaintiff than to pay attorneys to take it to trial,” Held said.

Commissioners have said county taxpayers have paid more than $250,000 in legal expenses and court settlements to resolve a series of lawsuits filed against Held and the sheriff's department since he took office in 2012.

Saxton received $6,500 settlement from the county to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit she filed last year against Held.

Held, 44, of Hempfield is awaiting trial on criminal charges filed against him earlier this year claiming he used on-duty deputies and county equipment for campaign purposes.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.