NEW YORK CITY, NY –
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a rape claim brought by a former New York State Office of Mental Health employee against the man who supervised her and served as the agency’s chief diversity officer.
The ruling does not decide whether the alleged assault occurred. At this stage, the court was required to treat well-pleaded allegations as true and draw reasonable inferences in the employee’s favor.
The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, sued the state agency and former supervisor Matthew Canuteson in July 2025. Her complaint alleges sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, retaliation and rape. She is seeking at least $3 million in damages.
Doe worked for the Office of Mental Health from February through June 2023. According to her complaint, Canuteson began sending sexually explicit messages about a month after she started and used his authority over her employment to pressure her into a sexual relationship.
She alleges that he entered her office on March 17, 2023, locked the door without her consent and touched her while she felt frozen by fear and confusion. The complaint says she later told him she wanted no sexual contact and wanted a professional relationship.
Doe alleges that on May 3, 2023, Canuteson again entered her office, locked the door and raped her. She says she did not consent and was physically unable to communicate her unwillingness while paralyzed by fear.
The complaint further alleges that after she began resisting his advances and said she planned to speak with human resources, her supervisory responsibilities were removed and her employment was terminated. Those remain allegations, and neither the agency nor Canuteson has filed a full answer to the complaint.
Canuteson asked U.S. District Judge Elizabeth C. Coombe to dismiss the rape claim, arguing that the complaint did not sufficiently allege forcible compulsion or physical helplessness.
Coombe denied that request on September 1. She wrote that, while the question was close, the alleged locked-door encounters, the supervisor’s authority and Doe’s stated fear were enough for the claim to survive the pleading stage under either theory.
The ruling keeps the claim alive but is not a finding of liability or guilt. The case is civil, and the disputed facts will be tested through further litigation.
The case also raises unanswered questions for a state agency responsible for mental-health services and workplace accommodations. The complaint alleges that human-resources personnel participated in ending Doe’s employment after she tried to report harassment. The Office of Mental Health told the Times Union it does not comment on pending litigation.
Canuteson remained at the agency for months after Doe’s termination and resigned in December 2023, according to an agency court filing cited by the Times Union. It remains unclear whether the agency conducted an internal investigation, whether he was asked to resign or what safeguards changed after the allegations surfaced.
A magistrate judge previously allowed Doe to proceed under a pseudonym over the state’s objection. Her anonymity protects her identity while the court examines allegations involving sexual violence, power and retaliation inside a public workplace.
Sources
U.S. District Court: Doe v. New York State Office of Mental Health, September 1 Order
Times Union: Former State Worker’s Rape Claim Can Move Forward
CourtListener: Doe v. New York State Office of Mental Health Docket
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