AKRON, Ohio — A Democratic nominee for Akron City Council is facing charges of sexual harassment after a former student of one of his barber schools filed a lawsuit in federal court.
Attorneys for Amaya Ridenour, 23, filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio detailing harassment by Eric Garrett Sr., principal of Beyond Expectations Barber College LLC, which has sites in Akron, Youngstown and Canton.
Garrett, a Democrat, edged out an incumbent councilwoman for one of three top spots in Akron’s May Primary election. He and two incumbent Democrats will face two Republicans in November for three available seats on Akron’s predominantly Democratic council.
Ridenour was the recipient of one of six $5,250 scholarships the Beyond Expectations school offered through Community Development Block Grant funds awarded by the city of Akron in 2022, which totaled $31,500, according to the city’s records.
Ridenour, who was on track to graduate in January 2023, attended the Akron barber school from March 1, 2022, through Aug. 12, 2022, when she was expelled for disrupting class.
According to Ridenour’s lawsuit, her expulsion was actually retaliation for rejecting Garrett’s sexual advances.
Garrett’s attorney, Nicholas Hanek of Meyers. Roman, Friedberg & Lewis, said the claims of harassment are untrue.
“There’s no merit whatsoever to these claims and we’re going to fight them,” said Hanek, who declined to say more.
Ridenour said she learned she was expelled through a letter she received when she was halfway through a 30-day suspension.
Prior to the suspension, she had faced no disciplinary action, she said. Records of Ridenour’s monthly evaluations from the school show high scores and positive comments from the school’s instructors.
One written evaluation submitted to the City of Akron as part of the school’s reporting for its CDBG funding shows Ridenour scored 90% overall for her skill, professionalism and attendance.
The school’s social media posts also praise her barber skills. One photo, posted in April 2022 on the barber school’s Instagram account, shows Ridenour and two other students holding trophies naming them “Business class MVPs.” Two additional posts featuring Ridenour relay positive messages about her efforts.
“I never got in trouble. I’d never been suspended. I had good attendance. I had great grades,” Ridenour said.
Ridenour’s suit details unwanted hugs and kisses from Garrett throughout her enrollment at the barber school.
At first, Ridenour said she didn’t think much of it, but as time wore on, Garrett’s advances became increasingly uncomfortable.
At one point, when he “went in for the hug,” she said she offered only one arm, and he questioned why he wasn’t good enough for both arms.
When Garrett’s behavior became overwhelming, Ridenour said she was so uncomfortable she reached out to her sisters via text messages, for which she kept dated screen shots.
In one text, she describes being called into the school office to be verbally reprimanded for consorting with her classmates after school, when a group of students met at a bar.
Ridenour told her sisters that one of the men in the group said he too was called to the office but was asked whether he was having sexual relations with Ridenour.
One of Ridenour’s sisters texted back, “It’s none of their business, period.” Another sister commented it literally had “nothing to do with school.”
Ridenour’s attorney, Claire Wade of Sobel, Wade & Mapley, said she spoke with witnesses who verified Ridenour’s claims “but were too scared to provide me with signed statements.”
The suit claims the harassment escalated during a July 2022 graduation, when Garrett forced Ridenour to stand next to him for a group photo, a pose social media photos show took place at least twice.
According to the suit, “Garrett stood close to Ridenour, rubbed up against her and pressed his genitals against her.”
When Ridenour tried to walk away, Garrett followed her, put his arm around her and kissed her, and told her he loved her, the suit said.
She began avoiding him, according to the suit, but about two weeks later, Garrett expelled her.
Ridenour said the pandemic delayed her ability to attend the barber school. Then, when she was about to start classes, her boyfriend of six years died, rendering school a kind of lifeline for her, she said.
“It was therapeutic to me,” she said. “I wasn’t at home crying every day anymore. I wasn’t depressed. I was just literally trying to get through college. I was studying hard. I was going to school every day.”
Ridenour said the experience has been a major setback for her.
“I should have been done in January and now we’re halfway through the year, and I’m still fighting this case and having to deal with all this bad talk about me,” she said. “I put a lot of time and effort and love into the school. I really thought it would be a great school.”
In addition to Akron CDBG funds, Beyond Expectations received financial assistance from the federal Paycheck Protection Program and is subject to the requirements of Title IX, Wade said.
Among other protections, Title IX protects people from sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funding.
According to the suit, Ridenour is seeking reimbursement for school expenses and attorneys’ fees, as well as damages for the loss of opportunities the school offers, for pain, suffering and mental anguish, and for loss of enjoyment of life.
