The former assistant accusing embattled “Dolton Dictator” Tiffany Henyard of silencing her rape accusations has come forward to tearfully detail how she is fighting “for every woman that’s been in my position.”
Fenia Dukes identified herself in a video statement released to NBC Chicago on Monday as the ex-employee claiming in a lawsuit that she was fired by the Illinois mayor soon after accusing a high-ranking employee of sexually assaulting her on a taxpayer-funded business trip.
In her video statement, Dukes tearfully detailed her allegations of being attacked in May last year by Dolton Trustee Andrew Holmes after being left alone after dinner on the Vegas Strip. Her allegations are now under federal investigation.
“My last memory was me waking up in his room,” she said of the older employee she trusted and affectionately knew as “Uncle Dru.”
Dukes claims in her lawsuit that she was fired soon after bringing the accusation against Holmes to Henyard — which she found particularly painful because the mayor had until then mentored her and even suggested she could one day replace her.
“She took me under her wing,” she said of the now-heavily investigated leader who brags about being a “super mayor.”
“I’m teaching you the game and I want you to be able to have opportunities I had, because I am the first black-woman mayor of Dalton, and you could be the one taking my seat,” she said.
Dukes tearfully claimed that she only filed the lawsuit to help others who find themselves in similar positions.
“This has been a long journey for me already,” she said in the video.
“I’m fighting for every woman that’s been in my position,” Dukes said. “I’m fighting for a sister that doesn’t have a voice. I’m fighting for a sister that’s scared. I’m fighting for a sister that doesn’t have a sister.”
“I’m fighting, not just for me.”
Holmes did not respond to repeated requests for comment, NBC Chicago said.
The Village of Dolton told the outlet it had “conducted a thorough investigation into these allegations” led by an “independent third-party company” — and “Ms. Dukes refused to cooperate with our investigation.”
It claimed that an officer Dukes called her “hero” for trying to help — before allegedly getting demoted and also taking legal action — had earlier been “interviewed and denied knowing anything about these allegations.”
“This is nothing more than two disgruntled village employees trying to make off with the taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” the village alleged.
“The village looks forward to defending these allegations.”
Dolton trustees hired Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s former mayor and a former federal prosecutor, to lead an investigation into Mayor Henyard.
