Long Island man’s $100M suit claims female boss forced him into sex at work for years — ‘even a Mercedes needs a tune up sometimes’
Kian Cooper, a single father of two children, claims he endured years of forced sex with his boss so he could keep his job. J.C. Rice
A Long Island man has filed a $100 million lawsuit accusing his former supervisor at a Queens drug-rehabilitation center of coercing him into a years-long sexual relationship and threatening his job whenever he tried to end it.
According to the complaint filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, Saint Joseph’s Medical Center program director Michele Poole allegedly pressured employee Kian Cooper into frequent sexual encounters in her office and attempted to justify the relationship by comparing it to well-known workplace romances.
Cooper claims Poole would summon him to her fourth-floor office two to three times a week—often early in the morning at the start of his 6 a.m. shift—where staff could reportedly hear “loud noises relative to sexual activities” behind closed doors. He alleges that every time he tried to end the encounters, Poole threatened retaliation.
“I asked her to stop more than 100 times in person, and about a dozen more by text,” Cooper stated in the lawsuit. When he attempted to pull away, Poole allegedly told him, “Find another job.”
Poole strongly denied the allegations in comments to The Post, insisting the relationship was consensual, short-lived, and initiated mutually. She said Cooper gave her gifts and romantic messages, and she emphasized she had no authority to fire him.
“He’s just making things up,” she said. “I have proof of the intimate things he sent me.” She added that she plans to pursue legal action for anything she considers defamatory.
Cooper, now 50 and still employed as a clinical supervisor with Saint Joseph’s, says he felt unable to leave the position due to a past drug conviction and fear of losing financial stability. He alleges the unwanted sexual relationship began in 2022, shortly after Poole sent him an anonymous fruit basket and later pressured him into meeting her at a Midtown hotel.
Cooper claims the situation caused severe emotional distress, leading to two medical leaves due to stress, anxiety, and symptoms he says were later diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Poole is no longer employed at Saint Joseph’s. Cooper’s attorneys say they do not know whether she was terminated or resigned.
Cooper also alleged Poole had an affair with another employee, a claim that man denied when contacted by The Post. Poole also disputed that claim and said she routinely sent fruit baskets to employees for their birthdays, denying that any sexual activity occurred in her office. She added that staff were present by 6 a.m. and that her secretary attended their meetings.
“Men can be victims of sexual harassment just as much as women,” Cooper’s attorneys, JoAnn Squillace and Stephen Drummond, said.
Saint Joseph’s Medical Center did not respond to a request for comment.
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