Two felony charges and two misdemeanors were filed Monday in Kosciusko Superior Court I against a Warsaw dentist for alleged criminal behavior against one of his employees.
Dr. Steven C. Hollar, 57, of Warsaw, is facing two level 6 felony charges of criminal confinement and two class B misdemeanor charges of battery, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Hollar, known for playing Rade in the 1986 basketball film “Hoosiers,” is a dentist at Hollar Dental Group in Warsaw.
In the court documents, Indiana State Police Trooper Benjamin Werner states that ISP submitted to the special prosecutor attorney police reports and other information pertinent to their investigation in support of their case.
On April 14, 2023, ISP Sgt. Don Curl requested Werner conduct a follow-up criminal investigation originally reported to the Warsaw Police Department. On April 5, 2023, a woman went to the WPD and was interviewed regarding conduct that occurred while she was an employee at Hollar Dental Group. Werner interviewed the woman on April 27, 2023.
The woman told Werner she was hired on Jan. 3, 2023, at Hollar Dental Group, initially at the front desk but then became a dental assistant.
She reported that on March 20, 2023, Hollar conducted annual staff reviews. She had only become a dental assistant in February 2023. Her annual review took place in Hollar’s downstairs office one on one. She said Hollar asked her questions that she felt were invasive, including about her dad and her child’s father.
Hollar then allegedly read off some positive and negative comments about her. He then allegedly had her try on some scrubs in front of him and talked to her about her not wearing a bra under a jacket he gave her. He also allegedly told the woman he wanted to pay for her radiology courses and gave her a $2 raise. He gave her a radiology book and told her he was going to make a phone call to enroll her.
At one point during the incident, Hollar allegedly said he didn’t mean for her to change in the room and she could have gone to the bathroom. He laughed, she said sorry and he said it was OK, giving her a hug. He then told her, “Let’s keep this between us.” The woman said she was made to feel like she was in the wrong.
After she went home, Hollar then allegedly called her and asked if she was alone. He also told her he was giving her flexible hours and she could come in to work a half hour later if it would be easier for her and her child. She also said she received a text message from Hollar allegedly asking her how she liked the jacket he provided her and if she tried it out at home.
The woman told Werner about another incident that she thought occurred around March 21, 2023. Hollar allegedly had her go into an open office upstairs and sit in a dental chair to show her the proper way of helping a disabled patient get out of the chair. Hollar allegedly grabbed the woman’s breasts on the outside of her clothing during the demonstration and then joked about the incident, according to the court documents.
The woman also reported another incident that occurred on April 4, 2023. Hollar called her downstairs for a meeting about the scrubs and how someone else was having a hard time ordering them. He allegedly got scrubs belonging to someone else, that the woman knew wouldn’t fit her, and Hollar had her put the scrubs on in front of him after allegedly locking the door. When another employee could be heard in the storage room down the hall, Hollar told the woman “shhh” to keep the other employee from hearing her in his office.
During the incident, the woman said, Hollar allegedly kept telling her to try on various sizes of scrubs. At one point, while she was turned away from Hollar, he allegedly unhooked the woman’s bra from behind and grabbed her breasts from behind. They had some discussion about his behavior being against code, she tried to dress and leave and Hollar requested to see her C-section scar. He allegedly reached forward, moving her scrub pants out of the way and grabbing her underwear to look at her scar.
Court documents state the woman tried to leave but Hollar kept trying to get her to stay. Hollar eventually left the office and went to the storage room area to talk to another employee. Two other employees saw the woman leave the office.