NEW ORLEANS — A woman and her husband recently sued Luke Irwin, a Slidell police officer, for $3.2 million for allegedly forcing her into a non-consensual sexual relationship with him.
Randy Fandal, Slidell police chief, and Randy Smith, former Slidell police chief, are also named as defendants.
From summer 2015 to May 2016, the woman claims that she “was subject to a non-consensual sexual relationship with Officer Irwin that he created and maintained through coercion and intimidation through his position with the [Slidell Police Department],” according to the lawsuit.
Officer Luke Irwin
The woman, whose name has not been reported because she claims to be a victim of a sex crime, alleges that she was “physically and sexually assaulted” by Irwin and “...was subject to continuing mental anguish, upset and humiliation secondary to Officer Irwin’s campaign of intimidation and humiliation that continues through the present.”
The plaintiffs claim that Fandal and Smith knew or should have known about Irwin’s alleged conduct and failed to stop it.
Julie Knight, the defendant’s attorney, said her client had maintained a consensual sexual relationship with the woman, according to the Times-Picayune. But Irwin has denied the allegations of coercion and intimidation. He is currently on administrative duty.
The plaintiffs have yet to file a criminal complaint, according to Knight.
The civil suit was filed on April 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Robert C. Stein, attorney for the plaintiffs, did not respond to interview requests.