$100M Suit Alleges Years of Sexual Abuse by Female Boss Against Long Island Employee

Kian Cooper, a 50-year-old clinical supervisor and single father from Long Island, has filed a $100 million sex discrimination lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court against Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Queens and its former program director, Michele Poole. He alleges she coerced him into sexual encounters two to three times weekly in her fourth-floor office starting in 2022, often summoning him near his 6 a.m. shift after sending an anonymous fruit basket. Cooper claims colleagues overheard the activities due to audible noises, and he endured this to protect his job amid a prior drug conviction, despite earning two master’s degrees since joining in 2019. ​

Cooper asserts he begged Poole to stop over 100 times in person and 12-14 times via text, but she responded with threats like “find another job” and invoked Barack Obama’s workplace meeting with Michelle to normalize it, once saying she felt “sooo undervalued” like a Mercedes needing a tune-up. The encounters reportedly began after a date at the Marriott Marquis in Midtown, leading to his PTSD diagnosis, two medical leaves totaling three months for stress, and a February 2024 complaint that prompted her retort calling his action “foul.” He remains employed at the opioid treatment center, while Poole, whose departure circumstances are unclear, no longer works there. ​

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Poole vehemently denies the claims, describing a mutual six-month affair where Cooper sent her gifts and cards, insisting she lacked hiring or firing power and had a secretary present during 6 a.m. staff hours. She calls the suit fabricated, claims proof of his advances, and warns of countersuits for slander, while noting fruit baskets were routine birthday gifts for all staff. A second employee Cooper accused of an affair with her also denied it to reporters. ​

Cooper’s attorneys, JoAnn Squillace and Stephen Drummond, emphasize that men face sexual harassment equally to women, highlighting power imbalances in workplaces like this rehab facility. The case draws attention to rare male victim narratives in such suits, with no response yet from Saint Joseph’s. Developments could reshape discussions on workplace coercion across genders.