Philadelphia Woman Accuses Former Obama Operative Brendan Killackey of Sexual Assault
She's suing the operative and the DNC, claiming that he began grooming her when she was a 16-year-old campaign volunteer.
Former Barack Obama campaign operative Brendan Killackey and the young woman he allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted when she was a 16-year-old campaign volunteer (photo provided)
By Victor Fiorillo· 7/10/2025, 2:55 p.m.
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Philadelphia Woman Accuses Former Obama Operative Brendan Killackey of Sexual Assault
A Philadelphia woman has filed a civil lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee and Brendan Killackey, a former Barack Obama campaign organizer in the Philadelphia area, alleging that Killackey groomed and then sexually assaulted her repeatedly when she was a 16-year-old campaign volunteer.
The plaintiff and Brendan Killackey (photo provided)
The woman, who filed the lawsuit under a pseudonym, says she met Killackey in 2012 when she was a junior in high school and he was 38 years old. Killackey was a “field operative” for the Obama campaign in the Bucks County area. The campaign recruited her to be an “organizing fellow,” an unpaid internship position. The woman, who now lives in Port Richmond, worked anywhere from 10 to 30 hours per week on the campaign. In the lawsuit, she alleges that Killackey took an “unusual and immediate” interest in her and that he was “openly complimentary and flirtatious.”
One day in June 2012, she claims that Killackey offered to give her a ride home and that, during the drive, he pulled the car to the side of the road and began touching her leg. She says he asked her if she was “wet” and that he had an obvious erection. After that, she says, he began giving her gifts, and she soon found herself getting a ride from him again. This time, she alleges, he parked the car near a basketball court in a nearby town and “initiated heavy touching and kissing.”
In July 2012, she alleges that Killackey took her to his apartment, pulled her pants off, and had intercourse with her, not wearing a condom. She says that she asked Killackey to slow down and told him that she was scared but that he kept going and replied “silly little girl.”
After that, she claims that Killackey provided her with alcohol in an effort to lower her inhibitions so that he could try to get her to participate in rape fantasies, bondage and anal sex. She alleges that he forced her to dress up like a younger schoolgirl, tell him she was only 14, pretend that he was adopting her, and shave her genitals. The woman says Killackey referred to her as “Daddy’s good little girl.” The suit alleges that he coerced her into performing sex acts in multiple public places. She says the alleged abuse continued into 2013.
Over the years, she sought therapy for panic attacks, eating disorders, and other issues she associated with what Killackey allegedly did to her. And in 2019, she decided to send him the following email:
I don’t know if it matters to you, but I need you to know that our relationship caused serious psychological and sexual harm to me. I am aware it caused you pain as well. When I look at my sixteen year old self, or even my drug- addicted nineteen year old self, I see a confused child. And I wish you would have too.
I know you sincerely cared for me. I know you and I had some kind of connection. I know that I was clever and insightful when you met me, but those qualities dont make someone an adult. When we met, I had no experience in overcoming shame, or reflecting on my values, or practicing accountability, responsibility, integrity- the things that really make someone who they are.
I look at sixteen year old [me], and I see a quietly suffering girl. Smart, charming, but absolutely desperate for the love and care that her parents couldn’t give her. I thought I found it in you. The eroticism and chaos of our relationship made it impossible for me to understand my value to you. It distorted my view of my own sexuality and my own autonomy. I deeply regret that I didn’t tell anyone while it was happening who could have helped me.
You don’t have to respond.
Days later, she says Killackey, who now lives in Houston, Texas, responded with the following:
I’m writing after much thought as to what you wrote and whether I could do any good in responding. In the end, I want to show respect for your reaching out and acknowledge what you said. In the two and a half years since we last spoke, you and our relationship have been in my thoughts daily. That is to say, you matter to me. I very consciously have not been in touch, not to avoid or forget, but to allow at least me time and space for honest perspective, healing wounds, forgiveness and perhaps even some peace in this life again. I want that for myself and the people that matter to me, and I am willing to do what I can to help get there.
In the suit, she accuses Killackey of sexual assault and battery, aggravated indecent assault, harassment, unwanted touching, invasion of physical and personal privacy, and causing mental anguish and post traumatic stress disorder. She accuses the Democratic National Committee of failing to keep her safe while she was employed by the campaign, arguing that others working out of the campaign office knew or should have known that there was something wrong, based on all the attention she says Killackey showered on her, often in front of other adult employees. And she also says the office was aware of prior complaints about Killackey’s “lack of professionalism” and “inappropriate behavior.”
The suit seeks unspecified damages. Neither Killackey nor the DNC responded to a request for comment.
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