Bizarre, Society, Torts

Rollover Tax Credit: IRS Agent Accused Of Coercing Man Into Sex To Avoid Tax Penalties

200px-IRSMany citizens have said that they have been raped by the IRS, but Vincent Burroughs, of Fall Creek, Ore., means it a bit more literally. He insists that he was coerced into sex against his will by IRS agent Dora Abrahamson, who allegedly threatened him with heaving tax fines unless he slept with her.

If the allegations are found to be true, Abrahamson clearly acted inappropriately and should be fired. However, is this sexual assault?

Burroughs says he first met Abrahamson when she informed him that he was being audited by the IRS. He says that she then began sending text messages about wanting to come over and give him massages to “help [him] relax.” He said that this continued for a couple of months, including racy photos of Abrahamson being sent to him. He said that she told him that she knew everything that he had done and “she knew more than my mother knew about me.”

He alleges in the lawsuit that Abrahamson then showed up at his house in revealing attire — honking at his gate. This September 2011 encounter led to his letting her into his home and allegedly threatening about waiving or imposing a penalty. The complaint states “She told (Burroughs) that she could be a bitch, or that she could be nice . . . She said that she could impose no penalty, or a 40 percent penalty, and that if he would give her what she wanted, she would give him what he needed.”

He says that he had sex with her because he was “sexually harassed and intimidated.”

The federal lawsuit clearly raised troubling issues. Had this been a woman being harassed by a male agent, this would not be viewed as a close question for sexual harassment. Should it be any different for a man?

The sexual harassment of the texts, if proven, would be classic forms of harassment. However, Burroughs agreed to let in the agent into his home and then had sex with her. He could have refused to open his gate. He could have reported the agent to the IRS. Should his failure to take such steps bar recovery for the sex as opposed to the text messages and threats?

Source: CBS

40 thoughts on “Rollover Tax Credit: IRS Agent Accused Of Coercing Man Into Sex To Avoid Tax Penalties”

  2. I find the story confusing as well. Did Mr. Burroughs turn in Ms. Abrahamson because the sex was bad? Or did she perhaps renege and slap him with a 40% penalty anyway? It’s possible that Mr. Burroughs consented to the liaison in order to create evidence for a little blackmailing of his own. My gut tells me that in this instance the court should find the parties in pari delicto and toss the case.

    As a general proposition, my view is that if the sexual harassment is accompanied by threats to one’s livelihood or work environment, the standards should be the same regardless of whether the complainant is a man or a woman. The issue in employment case is the misuse of authority.

  3. artiewhitefox 1, February 8, 2013 at 4:51 pm

    That is being Coerced? Many men would like that woman.
    ========================
    She didn’t even want to go to lunch.

  4. You know how to tell when your at a swingers grocery store? All of the bananas are brown.

  7. The way I see it…. You’re going to get screwed by the system one way or the other….

  8. Do you want to sleep with me? Well, yeah. (It’s a yes or no question. Saying no might be an inappropriate response). Does that mean we’re going to have sex? Well, sometimes when two people sleep together that happens. I love my computer, do you love your computer? No, it’s a machine.

    Hypothetical situation. IRS supervisor asking her subordinate that question. Then the subordinate gets fired.

  11. This sounds like the beginning of an adult video. I hate to say it, but I would like to see a pic of the Dora Abrahamson.

  12. Mr. Turley, I particularly like the line she was, “Honking @ his gate.” A bureaucrat mating call.

  13. Did they arrest him for prostitution….. Seems to be a good charge….. I wonder if they’ve gone soft on such a stiff penalty…… If she’s incarcerated….. Where will they place her because of the penal failure…..

  14. Heck, TV show Cheers did this plotline many years back. (Sry don’t know how to find it if it is online)

  15. I would like more of the story before making up my mind. On the facts presented, however, men can be sexually harassed as much as can women, it is just seemingly much less common. On two occasions in my career I received the opening gambits of sexual harassment, but manged to avoid the women afterward. In one instance it was a women high up in my agency’s hierarchy that was touching me inappropriately, I rebuffed her, but some risk to my career was entailed.

    Dealing with a threatening IRS agent can be quite daunting and the fact he had sex with her merely could be a reflection of how afraid she made him. On the other hand though, it is also possible that he was using his having had sex with her a leverage against his potential tax penalties and thus the “blackmail” was reversed. In any event if she was handling his audit and if they indeed had sex, then she should be fired for inappropriate behavior. This is why more facts are needed.

  16. I need to see pics to determine is she’s sufficiently homely before I believe this guy’s story.

  17. “He could have refused…” Haven’t we heard the same argument about women being raped? She could have dressed more appropriately, she could have kept her legs closed, she could have yelled, etc. Go ahead make the argument about what he “could” have done but don’t complain when some lame person says a women should just keep her legs closed.

  19. “heaving tax fines”

    Such a baudy description! It’s enough to give one the vapors. However, to the questions: ” He could have refused to open his gate.” – The first thing they teach you in tax law is to never speak to the IRS making threats or accusations without a tax attorney present, so unless he’s a lawyer, I say he gets a pass on dropping that ball. “He could have reported the agent to the IRS.” – And reasonably expected even more abuse? A pass on that as well. “Should his failure to take such steps bar recovery for the sex as opposed to the text messages and threats?” – Not in the slightest. If true, his claim constitutes both a crime and a tort. He should not be penalized for going to other equally appropriate authorities to seek remedy simply because he didn’t trust “dad” enough to go tell him and expect anything other than more harassment.

  20. As to whether sexual harassment of the different sexes should be viewed differently, Wayne State law prof Kingsley Browne takes a very fair look at this question in “Biology At Work.” Well-worth reading.

    Of course, this case should not be viewed as a “closed question.”

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