Employee sues state over alleged rape at mental hospital

? An employee at Osawatomie State Hospital is suing the state of Kansas after she allegedly was raped at the institution.

The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges female employees at the hospital were sexually and verbally abused by male patients, creating a “sexually hostile work environment.”

The Kansas City Star reports the woman says in the lawsuit that she was raped while working at the hospital in October 2015. She says she was not aware the man had made “multiple” attempts to strangle his wife and was involuntarily admitted to the hospital because it was likely he could cause injury or abuse to himself or others.

The lawsuit says two patients helped stop the attack before hospital security arrived. Miami County charged the man with rape.