'Now is the time': Woman shares graphic account of alleged rape by Haymarket bar owner

Editor's note: This report contains graphic descriptions of an alleged sexual assault.

The sex started consensually.

It was the couple's third date. They'd connected on a fetish website and met at the man's Cherokee Triangle apartment. He began to play music, they discussed a safe word, then they started to kiss.

In details published Wednesday in a court document, the woman describes how the man did not stop when she used the safe word, how he raped her at his Louisville home and how for years she felt too ashamed to share what had happened.

Now, as the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the man she says sexually assaulted her, the woman is for the first time telling her whole story publicly. Courier Journal spoke multiple times to two of the woman's four attorneys about the potential impact to her of reporting about the case, and they said she was ready for the details to be reported.

Background: Haymarket Whiskey Bar reopens as owner files suit against woman who said he raped her

The latest: Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner mocked sexual assault accusers, former employees say

The account is a stark counterpoint to the story told by Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner Matthew Landan, who in November filed a defamation lawsuit against the woman, two of his former employees and another woman who had publicly accused him of assault.

Landan has routinely stated he does not know the woman, who on Nov. 13 labeled him a rapist in a meme she posted on Facebook and that was widely shared.

Courier Journal has not named either of the women included in the lawsuit because it typically does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual harassment or assault.

In new court documents filed Wednesday, the woman says she and Landan met several times in November 2013 after connecting through FetLife. com. The documents include screenshots of Landan's profile and describe the website as a social network for people interested in "exploring their own sexuality and non-traditional relationships."

The woman says Landan initially reached out to her, and they had two "non-eventful meetings" at his apartment before he invited her back for a third time, telling her he had a "surprise."

At his home, Landan handed the woman a drink and discussed with her a safe word that would "stop whatever romantic activity was taking place," the documents state.

The woman says she allowed Landan to tie her hands behind her back and to begin kissing her neck. But when he started biting her, she used the safe word — and he stopped, the documents state.

Landan began to use a sex toy on himself, the woman says, then attempted to use the same sex toy on her.

She "began both screaming the safe word and telling Landan that she did not want a dirty [sex toy] inserted into her and she did not want to have sex with him," the court documents state.

With the woman's hands still tied, the documents continue, Landan stuffed a sock in her mouth and began to forcibly engage in sexual intercourse.

When he finished, the woman alleges, Landan rubbed the used sex toy on her face before leaving to clean up because he "felt dirty," according to the documents.

"Now is the time for the victim to tell the truth, tell what happened to her and tell what he did," said Andrea Hunt, one of the woman's attorneys.

Claims made in a lawsuit represent only one side of a case. Landan's attorney, Andrew Horne, could not be immediately reached for comment on the new documents.

Related: Sexual assault victims are seeking justice on social media. Experts warn it's not bulletproof

The court documents state that, within 24 hours, the woman told two people — her sister and an ex-boyfriend — what had happened with Landan. She says she did not report the alleged rape to police because she was ashamed and was afraid of public scrutiny.

The woman's Facebook post generated comments that Landan had assaulted up to two dozen other women. But the woman says at the time she made the post she personally knew of only one other woman who was allegedly assaulted by Landan.

After her post was published, the woman says 11 other people "came forward to tell (her) that Landan either raped or sexually assaulted them," the court documents state.

Hunt said her law firm, Cobb Law, is not representing any other alleged victims.

The second woman named in the lawsuit is being represented by Michele Henry of the Craig Henry law firm. That woman has filed a countersuit against Landan, saying that he drugged her drink and thereby committed criminal assault.

Two of Landan's former employees, Eric Snider and Christopher Maggio, have also filed a countersuit against him, claiming Landan is seeking "vengeance and suppression" against the women who said he assaulted them as well as people who no longer wanted to work with him.

The employees also refute Landan's claims that they attempted to devalue the bar in an effort to purchase it themselves.

Bailey Loosemore: 502-582-4646; bloosemore@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @bloosemore. Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/baileyl.