KBR rape suit loss devastates accuser; company relieved Jury rejects woman's rape claims in KBR suit

Jamie Leigh Jones, who had lived in Conroe, accused KBR of creating a "sexually hostile working environment." Jamie Leigh Jones, who had lived in Conroe, accused KBR of creating a "sexually hostile working environment." Photo: David J. Phillip, Associated Press File Photo: David J. Phillip, Associated Press File Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close KBR rape suit loss devastates accuser; company relieved 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Jurors in a federal courtroom on Friday rejected a former Conroe woman's claims that she was drugged and raped by several Kellogg Brown & Root firefighters while working for the company in Iraq in 2005.

The jury also rejected Jamie Leigh Jones' claims that the former Halliburton subsidiary committed fraud by "inducing her to enter into an employment contract."

By answering "no" to those two questions, the jurors rendered the other 12 questions in the jury charge moot, bringing an end to the month-long trial of Jones' lawsuit.

Jones, 26, sued KBR and former KBR firefighter Charles Boartz, 34, in 2007, accusing the defense contractor of creating a "sexually hostile work environment" by neglecting its sexual harassment policies. Boartz was the only defendant identified by name in the alleged sexual assault she said occurred while working at KBR's Camp Hope installation in Iraq in 2005.

Jones said the attack was so brutal that she required two reconstructive surgeries to her chest and more than 200 visits to psychiatrists to treat post traumatic stress disorder. She also alleged employees of the Houston-based company imprisoned her in a shipping container after she reported the attack, telling jurors she was denied food, water and the chance to call her family for help.

Jones wept as the U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison read the verdict.

She later told the Associated Press she was devastated by the verdict.

"I believe I did the right thing coming forward," she said.

"We respect the jury's decision based upon the evidence they were allowed to see," her attorney Todd Kelly said, "but we do think it's a shame that Jamie's entire personal history was dragged before the jury when her rapist's criminal history, including violence against women, was suppressed from them."

Defense attorneys throughout the four-week trial painted Jones as a liar, accusing her of making up the story of being drugged and raped by several KBR employees. They pointed to doctors' tests that showed no signs of the date rape drug called Rohypnol in her system after the alleged incident.

"We have known the truth, and KBR has known the truth for a long time now," KBR attorney Dan Hedges told reporters outside the downtown federal courthouse. "We're very relieved and gratified to get that out to the public."

'Fully justified'

Boartz has insisted that he had consensual sex with Jones. The jury agreed.

His attorney Andrew McKinney said inconsistencies in Jones' medical records and statements to authorities after the alleged incident backed up his theory that she accused Boartz of raping her only because she was embarrassed about her indiscretion and wanted a way to get out of her one-year contract with KBR.

"(The verdict) was fully justified, fully merited and long overdue," McKinney said.

Policy thrown out

Jones' attorney Ron Estefan told jurors in closing arguments Thursday that KBR had known how widespread sexual harassment was in the company, but chose to ignore it because the remedy was too costly. Referencing the fact that Boartz was questioned two days after the alleged incident and never was reprimanded, he suggested the company gave other employees and corporations the green light to commit similar offenses.

Jones made her explosive accusations public in May 2007, but did not see the inside of a courtroom for nearly four years because a provision in her employee contract required company disputes to be settled through arbitration.

The policy was thrown out in the case when the U.S. Senate approved an amendment in 2009 to prohibit the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault cases through arbitration.

Estefan asked jurors Thursday to award Jones' up to five percent of KBR's net worth, a sum he estimated at more than $114 million.

jessica.priest@chron.com