King County Sheriff’s Office Accused of Sexual Harassment
A legal complaint has been filed which names King County as one of the principal defendants and alleges that the King County Sheriff’s office is plagued by a sexually hostile environment. The lawsuit claims that several supervisors at the King County Sheriff’s Office are guilty of repeated sexual harassment, gender inequality and discrimination, as per a Seattle Pi report.
The lawsuit is specifically against the King County Sheriff’s Office’s metro division and shoreline precinct. The complaint was filed by a sexual harassment attorney that represents three female employees of the agency. The plaintiff’s include a female sergeant and two female deputies.
Department has history of harassment
It is by no means the first time that the Kings County Sheriff’s Office has come under the scanner for sexual harassment and gender based bias. The Office had previously settled a $1 million sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed in 2013. Further, John Urquhart, the boss himself was the subject of an investigation when he was sergeant back in 2002/2003.
The sexual harassment attorney representing the three women has confidently stated that she is going to prove a trend of sexual hostility and gender based discrimination that has been going on in the King County Sheriff’s Office for years.
The suit alleges that, Dewey Burns, the sergeant of one of the plaintiff’s, would repeatedly make open bets that the plaintiff was going to cheat on her husband. He has also been accused of drawing a penis on her patrol car and sending her sexually provocative photos of women that he has had affairs with while being married. That is not smart and the fantastic attorneys on the superlative legal site known as USAttorneys.com will let you know this.
The three women were also subjected to fierce retaliation when they tried to speak up against the on-going harassment. One of them was denied career growth and overtime pays because she was ‘lazy’.
The three main culprits as portrayed in the lawsuit are Sgt. Dewey Burns, who has been working at the Office for the past 15 years. Major Shawn Ledford, who has been working at the Office for almost 26 years and Sgt. Chad DeVore, an employee of the King County Sheriff’s Office for 17 years.
Joseph Maturo Jr denies ridicules allegations against him
The Mayor of East Haven, Joseph Maturo Jr., has maintained that the sexual harassment allegations made against him have no backbone and are salacious lies. He has also expressed his trust in the justice system, saying that he is confident that the court will uncover the truth, according to a Patch.com report.
The mayor was named as the defendant in a legal complaint lodged by ex-town hall secretary Francine Carbone. Carbone, in the lawsuit, has accused Maturo of using sexually explicit language, making sexual comments about and towards her, grabbing his crotch repeatedly and exposing his genitals to her intentionally.
Maturo Jr. inciting work place problems?
The mayor claims Carbone was just a frustrated employee that was not contributing in anyway and was just about to be given the boot. Apart from the sexual harassment lawsuit, Carbone has also filed a Federal Medical Leave Act lawsuit against East Haven claiming that she was forced to cut her leave short and return to work.
