GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – A bombshell lawsuit calling one of Galveston County’s largest landowners a sexual predator was filed Thursday.
The petition details a series of allegations involving sexual assault against Jerome Karam and JMK5 Holdings, LLC.
The JMK5 Holdings, LLC website touts Karam as a dominating presence in Galveston County who’s purchased and redeveloped over one million square feet.
The lawsuit said that the victim was an employee of Karam’s and worked at The Jungle Bar and lounge in Texas City.
“The waitresses at that bar are given memberships to his gym. He sees our client at the gym and lures her into an empty area of the gym that’s been closed,” said the victim’s attorney Cordt Akers of Akers firm.
According to the lawsuit, the victim was groped and inappropriately touched on Jan. 31, 2022.
“She’s powerless, in a corner with this large 60-something-year-old man blocking her exit,” Akers said.
Akers told KPRC the victim filed a police report with the Texas City Police Department, but no charges were ever filed. Court records said she also made an outcry on social media.
“After she posted something about it on the internet, he sued for defamation for $100,000,000 and sued her into silence to take down all her posts and were here to counter that with the truth,” said Akers.
KPRC reached out to Karam’s attorney about the lawsuit, but he declined to comment and said he would consult with his client.
“We’re asking upwards of $1,000,000, which is one percent of what he asked of this 21-year-old single mother,” said the Akers.
The petition also alleges other instances of alleged misconduct and cover-ups.
You can read through the lawsuit and Karam’s alleged troubled history in the document below: