Staffer: ABC News Retaliated After Sexual-Assault Complaint

An ABC News staffer claimed the network retaliated against her after she filed a complaint early this year alleging that she was sexually assaulted by Michael Corn, who was then her boss as the top producer of “Good Morning America,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

Michael Corn

Kirstyn Crawford, a producer on the show, filed suit last month against Corn and the network. In an amended version of the suit filed Wednesday, she alleged that after she formally registered her complaint at ABC the network didn’t renew her three-year contract, offering instead a six-month extension with no raise.

In her suit, Ms. Crawford alleged that Corn sexually assaulted her during a 2015 reporting trip to Los Angeles. The suit also alleges that former ABC News producer Jill McClain was sexually assaulted by Mr. Corn when the two worked together roughly a decade ago. Ms. McClain, who left ABC in 2013, isn’t a plaintiff in the suit but is supporting Ms. Crawford’s case, according to the complaint.

Corn, who left ABC News in April, has denied wrongdoing and said in a statement that the allegations made by Ms. Crawford and Ms. McClain are fabrications.

The suit also alleged that ABC failed to act on complaints it had received about Corn’s conduct from several women over roughly a decade. ABC News said last month that it “disputes the claims made against it and will address this matter in court.”

Corn joined Nexstar’s NewsNation earlier this year.