DARDENNE PRAIRIE • Fingers are pointing after Dardenne Prairie's former assistant court clerk filed a lawsuit this week saying she was forced to resign after the city's former court administrator accused her of having inappropriate relationships with county sheriff's deputies.

Dana Knaust of Wentzville seeks unspecified damages in the suit filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court. She denies any inappropriate relationships and alleges she was "ostracized, ridiculed, ignored and harassed" by superiors and colleagues.

Knaust resigned Jan. 17, the suit says.

The suit names the city and Coreen Conroy, the city's court administrator until she was fired Nov. 17. Conroy was let go for issues unrelated to Knaust, the suit says.

St. Charles County sheriff's deputies patrol Dardenne Prairie and commonly visit City Hall to do paperwork and appear in court.

Knaust, who is married, says she met in early October with Mayor Pamela Fogarty, former City Administrator Brad Turvey and Board of Aldermen President Scott Kolbe to say that Conroy's accusations had created a hostile work environment.

A few weeks later, Conroy, Fogarty, Turvey and Knaust met, the suit says. Conroy stated during the meeting that Knaust had an inappropriate relationship at work with one deputy in particular, according to the suit.

After the meeting, Conroy continued to make allegations and to email colleagues, falsely telling them there was an investigation, the suit says.

Conroy, reached this week at her home, denied she had harassed Knaust. She said Knaust had told her about a relationship with a deputy. "Whether she had an inappropriate relationship or not, she told me what she told me. And that came out in this meeting. And she just, from then on, it was backstab, backstab, backstab."

Conroy agrees her firing was unrelated to Knaust.

Conroy said that she only spoke to others about Knaust and the deputy in an effort to protect herself, Knaust and the city from liability. She said Knaust told her that after the relationship with the deputy soured, the deputy would not leave Knaust alone. She said she had considered Knaust a close friend whom she wanted to protect. Now, Conroy said, "She is a liar. I can't believe that I misjudged her so badly."

In early November, Knaust sent a letter to Conroy and copied Turvey, demanding that Conroy stop making false allegations, but city representatives did nothing, she claims.

Dardenne Prairie city attorney John Young and the mayor refused to comment on the case. Fogarty said Turvey resigned in January, but she would not say why. She said the city has hired a temporary employee to serve as court clerk but is looking to fill all three jobs. Kolbe said aldermen plan to review the suit during a board meeting Wednesday night.

Sheriff's Department spokesman Craig McGuire said the department looked into allegations but found no evidence of an inappropriate relationship on the part of the deputy.

Knaust's attorney, Patrick Watts, said the city did nothing to help his client. "At the end of the day, words do matter," he said. "It essentially destroyed her reputation."