Drug program supervisor accused of making patient have sex with him

A former patient in a substance abuse program at the Haymarket Center claims a supervisor there threatened to have her sent to jail if she refused his sexual advances.

Heather M. Staker filed a lawsuit Dec. 10 in the Cook County Circuit Court against John David Powers, citing battery.

According to the complaint, Staker was transported to and enrolled in an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment program at Haymarket Center on April 27, 2012. While enrolled in the program, Staker asserts Powers worked at Haymarket as a drug program supervisor.

Staker alleges that she and Powers had non-consensual sexual contact on more than one occasion in his office. She asserts she did not consent to the sexual contact with Powers, but engaged in it because he threatened to have her sent to jail if she refused.

She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and is represented by Baizer Kolar & Lewis P.C.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2013L013941.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.