Fifth former employee sues West Alton Marina

ALTON — West Alton Marina has been hit with a fifth lawsuit from a former employee alleging sexual assault, sexual harassment and retaliation.

The former employee — a female — filed the suit under the pseudonym Charley Doe. The plaintiff worked at the marina from May 2019 until October 2021 when she quit because of the “hostile and abusive work environment,” according to the suit which was filed Tuesday in Belknap Superior Court.

As with the four other lawsuits filed recently, this one alleges that the marina’s owners “allowed sexual assault, harassment, and abuse to be the norm” and to which employees were exposed.

As with the other suits, the latest suit names John E. Murray and Brian Fortier as lead defendants, as well as Deidre Tibbetts and Allyson Shea.

Murray and Fortier, who are married, are facing criminal charges alleging sexual assault and other crimes related to their alleged contact with under-age male employees at the marina.

Tibbetts and Shea are sisters of Fortier and together the three own the Marina, according to the suit.

In the 12-count complaint Charley Doe alleges that during her employment she that she was exposed to sexually-charged culture which included Murray talking about his sexual encounters with Gilford Police Chief Anthony Bean Burpee as well as customers. He also allegedly touched employees on inappropriate parts of their bodies in front of the plaintiff, and on one occasion grabbed her buttocks.

The suit does not attest to the credibility of Murray’s statements about his connection with Bean Burpee. However, Bean Burpee resigned last month as police chief after being under investigation since January by the Public Integrity Unit of the state Attorney General’s Office. No information about that investigation has been released.

The suit alleges that Fortier, Tibbetts and Shea were aware of this type of behavior by Murray but “failed to stop and/or address it.”

The suit further alleges that a marina member who was also a part-time employee sexually assaulted the plaintiff by inappropriately touching her.

The suit also alleges she was assaulted again at an employee party in 2020 where employees, including those under 21, were drinking alcohol. The latter assault was stopped when an employee intervened, according to the suit.

The suit alleges the defendants were aware of the underage drinking and condoned it.

During the employee party last summer, where minors again had access to alcohol, Alton police responded after they received a call from someone at the party, according to the suit.

Murray's arrest occurred later that summer.

As with the four suits filed earlier, the plaintiff is alleging that she suffered physical harm and continues to suffer from emotional distress which has required therapy and counseling.

The plaintiff is asking compensation in the form of damages, lost wages, as well as back wages, according to the suit which was filed on the plaintiff’s behalf by attorney John Sherman, who is representing the plaintiffs in the other four suits.

The plaintiff is asking the court to attach $1.25 million in assets — $500,000 for the business, and $250,000 each on assets belonging to Fortier, Tibbetts, and Shea.

Murray is facing a variety of sexual assault charges, as well as trafficking charges related to allegations that he had underage male employees send him pornographic photos or videos of themselves. He has been held without bail in the Belknap County Corrections facility since his arrest last August.

Fortier is charged with sexual assault and witness tampering. He is presently free but under electronic monitoring.