Updated at 4:15 p.m.

LANSING – Sparrow Health System Chief Executive Officer Emory Tibbs, Jr. is accused in a lawsuit of soliciting sex from a woman for money and then assaulting her while he was an official at a Virginia hospital system.

And the woman suing him says there's video to prove it.

Stephanie Hale, a former employee of Centra Health — a regional health system based in Lynchburg, Virginia — has sued the system, its executives and Tibbs. (You can view a copy of the lawsuit below).

Tibbs, who began his job as president and CEO of Sparrow Health System in January, was chief operating officer of Centra at the time of the alleged incident and later became the system's CEO.

After learning of the allegations Wednesday morning, Sparrow leaders called a meeting of the health system's board, which then placed Tibbs on paid leave.

"These allegations are disturbing to us and we are taking immediate action," the health system said in a statement released after the meeting. "Effective immediately, the Sparrow Board has placed Mr. Tibbs, Jr. on paid administrative leave pending further thorough investigation."

According to Lansing-based public relations firm Truscott Rossman, which is handling communications for Sparrow on this issue, the investigation is a "top priority" but has no set time frame.

The Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital said it trusts the board to "investigate and respond promptly and appropriately."

"All nurses and healthcare professionals, patients, and workers have the unequivocal right to be respected and to be able to perform our jobs without fear of harassment," the council's executive committee said in a statement. "Sparrow Hospital should not tolerate sexual assault at any level."

Read more:Sparrow Health System places CEO on paid leave following sexual assault allegations

Who is Sparrow Health System CEO Emory Tibbs Jr.?

Hale is seeking $10 million total — $5 million for compensatory damages and $5 million for punitive damages — from Tibbs, Centra Health and its executives.

Centra said in a statement that it is working with a third party to see whether the allegations have merit.

"We are not able to comment directly on the lawsuit at this time, except to say that these are very serious allegations that require an appropriate level of due diligence," Centra spokesperson Diane Ludwig said in a statement. "Centra operates under a strict code of conduct and we expect all members of our team to exemplify those high standards.”

Hale's lawyer, Paul Valois of James River Legal Associates in Lynchburg, said Wednesday morning Centra knew about the allegations before the lawsuit but didn't notify employees until after she filed it Monday.

The State Journal has also asked, through Sparrow spokesperson John Foren, to interview Tibbs or his attorney, but has not yet received a response to that request.

Former Centra employee alleges wrongful termination, sexual assault

Hale alleges in the complaint that she was wrongfully terminated after Tibbs stalked, sexually harassed and intimidated her and that he later sexually assaulted and negligently injured her.

According to the complaint, she was hired in 2016 as a licensed practical nurse at a substance abuse rehabilitation facility operated by Centra in Amherst County, located just north of Lynchburg.

Hale met Tibbs at an employee orientation and did not meet him again until the incident where she says she was assaulted, according to the complaint.

Shortly after, she began to receive sexually suggestive emails from someone calling himself Ethan Toms. He used the email fun.2.bhad@hotmail.com and identified himself as an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, according to the complaint.

She sent him a few dismissive messages hoping he would leave her alone, the complaint says.

He didn't. Instead, her then-boyfriend Robert Peters, who is currently serving a prison sentence on charges not related to the incident, discovered the emails and suspected she was cheating on him, according to the complaint.

Ex-boyfriend used email to impersonate, respond to Toms

Peters began manipulating Hale's phone and used her email account to impersonate her, the complaint says. It also details that he sent "Ethan Toms" sexually suggestive replies to try to figure out who was messaging her because he didn't believe that she didn't know who the person was.

During a chance encounter with a co-worker, Hale learned she wasn't the only person Toms had reached out to, according to the complaint. The co-worker also had been communicating with Toms in a sexually suggestive manner through a website. The co-worker had a voice message and played it.

In that moment, Hale realized Toms was actually Tibbs, the complaint says. She believes Tibbs obtained her email from her employment records.

She told Peters, who didn't believe her. Instead, he continued to use her email to impersonate her, messaging Toms and implying he knew the man was actually Tibbs, according to the complaint.

Emails implying Toms is Tibbs lead to firing

The complaint says shortly after Peters began linking Toms and Tibbs while impersonating Hale, she was called from Amherst to Lynchburg three times to take random drug tests. All those tests were negative. Her supervisor also lifted her shirt to look for track marks — there were none.

She asked her supervisor why she was being harassed and continually forced to take drug tests. The supervisor put her finger over her lips and gestured for her to follow. The two women walked through the hospital to Tibbs' office, where the supervisor pointed to the door, according to the complaint.

Hale took that to mean the tests happened at Tibbs' request.

And despite testing negative, she was fired, the complaint says.

Once Hale was fired, Peters continued to insist on confirming whether Toms was indeed Tibbs. Without her knowledge, he developed a plan to extort Tibbs, according to the complaint.

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Ex-boyfriend planned a 'sting'

Peters continued impersonating Hale, using her email to accept Tibbs' invitation to engage in a paid sexual encounter at the Extended Stay hotel in Lynchburgh in March 2017, according to the complaint.

Records indicate the plan, as developed by Peters, was that Hale would get an extra key card to the room to leave for Peters to use after she checked into the hotel with Toms and to identify whether Toms and Tibbs were indeed the same person. Peters also asked a friend to videotape the sting.

Now facing harassment from Peters, Hale agreed to participate in the scheme, the complaint says.

She met Toms in the parking lot and "then knew with absolute certainty" that Tibbs was masquerading as Toms. He gave her cash to register the hotel room and arranged for her to let him in a back door of the hotel, according to the complaint.

She checked in and left the spare key for Peters, as planned, records say.

While Peters struggled to locate the room, Tibbs joined Hale. He immediately locked the door and started making alcoholic drinks. He appeared to have been drinking before entering the hotel, according to the complaint.

Records say Tibbs stripped naked and demanded Hale follow suit.

She tried to get to the bathroom, but Tibbs grabbed her and starting trying to remove her clothes, groping her breasts and genitals for about a minute before she broke free and ran to the bathroom and locked the door, according to the complaint.

Peters finally found the room, and Hale tried to exit the bathroom to let him in, but Tibbs blocked the door. Still naked, he then attempted to flee the room out the window, but it wouldn't open, the complaint says.

Hale managed to escape the bathroom and tried to open the door. But Tibbs blocked her from doing that as well, according to the complaint.

Meanwhile, the complaint says, Peters was screaming and pounding on the door. That prompted Tibbs to run into the bathroom, clothes in hand. As he did so, he knocked Hale into a wall and then the floor. The fall injured her head, back and shoulder.

Tibbs locked himself in the bathroom, and Hale let Peters and his friend into the room, according to court records.

After Peters berated and threatened Tibbs for some time, Tibbs eventually exited the bathroom "with a wad of cash in his hand." He attempted to hand the money to Peters before throwing it on the ground and fleeing, the complaint says.

According to the complaint, Hale remained in the room as Peters chased Tibbs.

The entire encounter is on video.

Hale says she's trying to move on

Hale believes Peters began to extort money from Tibbs after the incident, but she has no part in that, the complaint says.

Since that day, she has ended her relationship with Peters and started a new job. Her attorney writes in the complaint that she "spent two years doing her best to put this incident behind her as she was ashamed that she unwittingly allowed herself to be used as a pawn by Tibbs and Peters."

Contact reporter Megan Banta at (517) 377-1261 or mbanta@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1.

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