Finn Smith & Zoe Weyand | For The Post
Ohio University is being sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division for failing to promptly investigate and take action on a sexual harassment report filed by an employee.
The lawsuit was filed Sunday by Caitlin Mohler, an employee at WOUB, who alleges that she faced numerous unwelcome sexual advances from the former WOUB General Manager, Mark Brewer.
Brewer resigned as the General Manager of WOUB in March of this year. Mohler began working at WOUB in May 2013 and currently serves as the on-air supervisor.
The lawsuit is attempting to retrieve compensatory and punitive damages under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Mohler alleges that in or around the summer of 2023, Brewer began making unwelcome sexual advances toward her. She claims he engaged in flirtatious behavior, and made sexual comments and innuendo, all of which made her uncomfortable.
According to the lawsuit, Brewer once wrapped his arms around Mohler and kissed her multiple times on the forehead, making her uncomfortable.
From the summer of 2024 through December 2024, Mohler alleges Brewer would make excuses to spend alone time with her by unnecessarily prolonging projects. One of those instances required Mohler to climb a ladder and when she did, Brewer found excuses to touch her and made inappropriate comments about her body.
During the spring of 2025, Brewer drove he and Mohler to Covington, Kentucky for a project, and when they returned, he told Mohler he would not let her out of the car until she kissed him. After repeatedly refusing, Brewer kissed her anyway.
According to the lawsuit, Brewer would also frequently remind Mohler he had “friends in high places,” implying he could not be touched, as well as threatening to fire her multiple times.
Kayla Romine, director of WOUB from July 2023 to January 2026, became aware of the unwanted advances from Mohler. She also heard Brewer’s advances firsthand and on one occasion, Romine heard Brewer refer to Mohler as “the hot girl.”
Mohler attempted to avoid interaction with Brewer as much as possible by requesting Romine serve as the “middle-man” for communications between them, working remotely as often as possible and scheduling her in-office work hours around his.
However, the advances continued. On a trip to Georgia on May 18, 2025, Brewer greeted Mohler in the lobby of the Atlanta Marriott Hotel. When she arrived, he presented her with flowers, cheese, meats, a veggie tray and beverages.
The following day, Brewer asked Mohler to accompany him in his room to have a meeting regarding work. When in the room, Brewer touched Mohler's chest multiple times and commented on how sunburnt she was, even after she asked him to stop.
Later that same day, Mohler showed Romine a text message from Brewer which was a screenshot of a book excerpt that read, "to seduce a woman you can give her a piece of cheese.”
Following the conference, Romine and Mohler had a phone call on June 2, 2025, regarding the unwelcome sexual advances that began in 2023 and occurred during the conference. Romine filed an incident report to Ohio University’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance the same day.
Mohler did not file an official complaint at the time due to fear of retaliation and her belief that OU was going to investigate the concerns following the report filed by Romine.
Karen Petko, associate director of the CRC, received the complaint on June 4, 2025 and, during that summer, contacted Mohler multiple times regarding the complaint and to check on her “welfare.”
Petko decided not to investigate the complaint further or contact Brewer. The matter was then closed.
The harassment, however, did not end there. According to the case, the unwelcome behavior culminated around September 24, 2025, when Brewer insisted multiple times that he meet with Mohler in her office alone.
Brewer went to her office and asked if she was ready to talk. Mohler denied the request and told him he could schedule a meeting with her, saying she was uncomfortable meeting with him alone and wanted someone from Human Resources present.
Brewer then became “angry” and moved to her desk, warning her she needed to be careful about what lines she was crossing.
Mohler told Romine about the incident, and Romine recommended she lock her doors and contact Human Resources. HR then told Mohler to call the OU Police Department.
Two police officers arrived at the scene and took a report. Later, Mohler learned OUPD did not follow up on the matter at all and failed to speak with Brewer.
Mohler filed a formal complaint of sexual harassment against Brewer with the CRC on September 24, 2025.
The following day, a “Notification of Administrative Directive – Mutual No-Contact Order” was sent to both Mohler and Brewer, instructing both of them to avoid contact with one another.
On October 17, 2025, a “Notice of Investigation and Allegations” was sent to both of them, alleging Brewer violated Ohio University Policy 03.004: Sexual Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct.
Brewer violated the no-contact directive by trying to communicate with Mohler, resulting in a written reprimand from Petko.
Brewer’s wife, Deborah Brewer, worked at WOUB as the educational services manager at the time. Deborah Brewer retaliated against Mohler for filing the complaint by harassing her, excluding her from meetings she previously attended and uninviting her from events, such as Homecoming, which Mohler historically attended, according to the lawsuit.
Mohler disclosed Deborah Brewer’s retaliation to the university, which then dismissed the concerns.
OU began a disciplinary hearing for Brewer that was scheduled to last three days in March 2026, but Brewer resigned after the second day of the hearing.
Keri Griffin, director of the CRC and Title IX coordinator, told the plaintiff on March 27, 2026 the complaint was dismissed because the respondent is no longer employed by OU.
According to the lawsuit, Mohler required therapy and continues to suffer emotional distress, depression, humiliation and frustration from the hostile work environment, sexual harassment and retaliation, due to the university’s failure to take prompt remedial action and investigate the misconduct when it was first reported.
