Lawyer accused of 'monstrous' acts of sexual harassment says it was all consensual

An Eastern Kentucky lawyer accused of sexually abusing and harassing two female employees in “monstrous and inhuman ways” says his contact with them was consensual. 

In an answer filed Tuesday in Whitley Circuit Court, Shane Romines also says former receptionist Cassandra Hibbart and legal assistant Dana Vanover only quit in May after they discovered he was having a "relationship" with both of them. 

Romines, an accident lawyer who markets himself as “The Champ,” also says their demand for a monetary settlement May 14 was the first indication "… that either woman claimed that they had been subjected to unwelcome advances.” 

Background:Former employees accuse Kentucky accident lawyer of 'monstrous' sexual misconduct

Hibbart and Vanover alleged in a suit July 28 that Romines forbade them from texting each other or having lunch together so they wouldn’t realize he was abusing both of them. They said they complied with some of his demands to save their jobs. 

But in his response, filed by Lexington attorney Melanie Kilpatrick, Romines said the women were willing participants and that they consensually sent him nude pictures of themselves. He said Hibbard discussed her sex life and proclivities.  

He said Vanover offered him oral sex if he would pay for her breast augmentation and sent him 569 Snapchat messages, photos and videos in April and May. 

Romines acknowledged he engaged in “touching and petting” with them but said it was consensual. 

The answer includes several text messages attached as exhibits, including one in which Vanover said she loved him. 

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