An Ohio firefighter and emergency medical technician has been awarded $1.7 million after suing her former boss, whom she regarded as a father figure, over alleged sexual harassment and abuse.
Rebekah Huskey-Archacki, 35, filed a lawsuit in 2023 against fire chief Kent Johnson, 68, accusing him of groping, repeated sexual assaults and harassment. The allegations included obscene text messages, including one about placing face masks down her pants.
Johnson received a six-month jail sentence in the criminal case. Huskey-Archacki was awarded $1.7 million in a settlement reached at the Henry County Courthouse in Napoleon, Ohio, roughly 45 miles southwest of Toledo.
Her attorney, Subodh Chandra, said Huskey-Archacki faced “broader retaliation and efforts to undermine the investigation,” ultimately forcing her out of the career she had dreamed of. She resigned in 2024.
According to the complaint, Huskey-Archacki had known Johnson since she was seven and considered him a second father.
The complaint said Johnson frequently called her his “sweet, beautiful, special Emma,” a reference to his granddaughter, while Huskey-Archacki often addressed him as “dad.”
Huskey-Archacki worked as a firefighter and EMT for the City of Port Clinton fire department until Johnson reassigned her, against her wishes, to serve as his personal secretary.
After Huskey-Archacki gave birth in 2021, court filings say Johnson made a series of inappropriate advances. He allegedly asked whether he could watch her pump breast milk, rubbed her back and shoulders, and told her that her breasts “look amazing.”
Rebekah Huskey-Archacki was awarded $1.7 million in a settlement after filing a federal lawsuit accusing her boss of persistent sexual harassment
Huskey-Archacki described firefighting and emergency medical work as her dream career and said she tried to remain in Johnson’s favor to protect her job
Johnson served as fire chief at the department where Huskey-Archacki worked
The original complaint also alleged that Johnson repeatedly requested sexually explicit photos, called Huskey-Archacki to ask what she was wearing, and made sexual comments about her feet when she wore open-toed shoes at work.
Huskey-Archacki further alleged that Johnson took her phone without her knowledge, located private images showing her partially or fully exposed, and copied the pictures to his own device without permission.
According to court documents, Johnson used his phone’s camera to save the images and then uploaded them to cloud storage, making them accessible from other devices. Investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations recovered the photos.
BCI investigators also discovered images of women breastfeeding in Johnson’s Google Drive account, supporting Huskey-Archacki’s claim that his comments about her breastfeeding carried a sexual meaning.
Video footage shown in the case indicated that Johnson gave multiple false accounts of how he obtained the images and why he had them.
Court records said Huskey-Archacki repeatedly told Johnson she did not want a romantic or sexual relationship with him. She also tried to avoid provoking him because she feared losing her job.
Kent Johnson pleaded no contest to five misdemeanors and one felony related to the sexual harassment of an employee he had known since she was seven
Huskey-Archacki’s attorneys released screenshots of text messages as evidence supporting her allegations against Johnson
Johnson allegedly sent Huskey-Archacki suggestive text messages and voicemails on a regular basis
Huskey-Archacki was awarded $1.7million in a settlement after three years of litigation
Huskey-Archacki resigned on May 27, 2024.
Johnson pleaded no contest to five misdemeanors and a felony in April 2025, according to The Toledo Blade.
According to the outlet, Johnson will pay the city a restitution fee of $4,000 in four installments.