Former bartender sues Winter Carnival, Vulcan Krewe
(AP) - A former bartender is suing the 2005 Vulcan Krewe and the St. Paul Winter Carnival for damages in connection with a sexual assault in 2005.
The lawsuit was filed in Dakota County last week. The young woman is the third of three bartenders involved in the incident to file a lawsuit about the incident.
On Feb. 1, 2005, the bartenders allege they were surrounded by costumed Vulcans who shielded them from view while Vulcan King Thomas C. Trudeau molested them.
The lawsuit also claims a Winter Carnival representative later approached the then 19-year-old bartender and offered to pay her for not talking to the police.
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Trudeau was convicted of three gross misdemeanors and sentenced to two years probation and community service in the case.
Winter Carnival attorney Robert Haugen says no one employed by the foundation that organizes the carnival tried the bribe the woman, as the lawsuit alleges.
The lawyer for the Vulcans says the woman voluntarily participated in the 'garter ritual' and the organization had no control over Trudeau.
Trudeau's attorney says the allegations in the lawsuit are overstated. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)