Thursday, June 28, 2012
A state board has approved a $30,000 payment to a former Topeka Correctional Facility inmate who was forced by a guard to engage in sexual activity.
The payment settles a federal lawsuit filed against the state by parolee Rebecca Fleetwood.
Fleetwood accused corrections officer Nathan VanDyke of driving her to a cemetery in September 2008 and forcing her to perform a sexual act. VanDyke later pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual relations and was placed on probation.
The payment to Fleetwood was endorsed by the State Finance Council, a bipartisan board made up of legislative leaders and chaired by Gov. Sam Brownback.
House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a Republican from Hutchinson, voted Thursday against the settlement, saying it would have been wiser to seek dismissal of Fleetwood's lawsuit.
