Former Monroe County Health Department Administrator Lori Kelley filed a complaint Sept. 14 alleging county health officer, Dr. Sarah Ryterband, subjected her to sexual harassment and gender discrimination. County officials fired Kelley from her role Sept. 10.
In a Sept. 12 article, the B Square Bulletin claimed Monroe County leadership did not provide it any details about the change in administration. The Bulletin noted that officials redirected all inquiries to human resources and issued a vague statement that only confirmed there was a change in administration.
The complaint does not constitute a lawsuit. A discrimination lawsuit cannot be filed until a formal charge of discrimination is processed through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. Now that Kelley has filed a complaint, she and her attorney, Mark Waterfill, are waiting to obtain a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC to proceed to court.
Filed with the EEOC, the complaint also alleged Kelley was fired by the county in retaliation for reporting the harassment and discrimination.
According to the complaint, during Kelley’s employment, Ryterband repeatedly told her “she loved her and that she wanted to be Ms. Kelley’s ‘partner,’” on top of other alleged sexually inappropriate conduct and comments directed towards Kelley.
In one instance, Ryterband allegedly sent Kelley a sexually suggestive text message featuring a photo of male enhancement gelcaps. On another occasion, Kelley alleged Ryterband stood beside her, placing her “breasts directly beside Ms. Kelley’s face and creating an extremely uncomfortable situation,” according to the complaint.
The complaint said Ryterband insisted on using her personal email to communicate with Kelley, and Kelley requested help with communication boundaries from a Monroe County Board of Health official. Ryterband continued to demand to meet with Kelley and expressed frustration about why Kelley did not want to spend more time with her.
In a verified statement — a written declaration under penalty of perjury — Waterfill provided to the Indiana Daily Student, Kelley alleged the remarks were part of an ongoing issue.
“These statements were not isolated,” Kelley wrote in the verified statement. “They became a recurring pattern, including during or after one-on-one meetings and conversations between Dr. Ryterband and me.”
When contacted for comment, Ryterband referred the IDS to Monroe County human resources.
The complaint said the inappropriate behavior did not solely affect Kelley and referred to an alleged incident in September 2025 when Indiana University Health personnel were made uncomfortable due to “extremely sexually explicit” comments made about members of the County Council by Ryterband during a visit with nurses.
Kelley worried that objecting to these behaviors would affect her employment, according to the complaint. Still, Kelley reported the behavior to Monroe County Employee Services and health board member Dr. Lisa-Hanner Robinson.
According to the complaint, the inappropriate conduct continued.
“Despite my complaints and disclosures, the inappropriate conduct did not stop,” Kelley wrote in the verified statement. “I ultimately believed that no meaningful corrective action had been taken.”
After attempting to establish professional boundaries, Kelley wrote in the complaint that the relationship between her and Ryterband “deteriorated,” with Ryterband becoming increasingly “hostile.”
According to the complaint, the workplace environment caused Kelley to have “substantial anxiety and emotional distress,” leading her to seek out therapy. After continued anxiety, Kelley claimed in the complaint that she began to experience physical symptoms associated with the stress, including headaches, vomiting and increased blood pressure.
The complaint said Kelley continued to report the behavior, requesting assistance from the county’s employee services with maintaining professional boundaries during meetings with Ryterband, but she did not receive that help.
County attorney Molly Turner-King declined to comment in an email to the IDS, citing pending litigation.
The complaint stated that on Sept. 10, Kelley was directed to attend a meeting with Ryterband, Turner-King, Robinson and Monroe County’s Human Resources Director Melissa Stinson-Waddell, where she was told “there were concerns regarding her ability to perform her job.”
Kelley then had to choose whether to be terminated or to resign, according to the complaint. Kelley said she immediately argued against their claims, with the complaint saying there was no “meaningful documentation” that justified termination.
“I believe that the stated concerns about my performance and communication were a pretext for retaliation,” Kelley wrote in the verified statement.
The health department’s day-to-day operations are now temporarily led by Linnea Emigh, the director of public health preparedness, financial manager Eric Gause and Kathy Hertz, the director of vital records and admin support, until a permanent health administrator is in place.
The Monroe County Board of Health will hold a hearing Oct. 22 on whether there is cause to remove Ryterband, right after the board’s regular 4:30 p.m. meeting.
