Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyer Blog

The Los Angeles Unified School District failed to stop its superintendent from sexually harassing a male subordinate, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers understand that the district is also accused of sexual discrimination, public disclosure of private facts and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

If this case sounds familiar, that's probably because it's been in the spotlight for the last year.

The manager, who continues to serve as the director of leasing and asset management, was hired by the district back in 2000. His lawsuit alleges that this is when problems first began.

The former superintendent reportedly did not require the claimant to be interviewed or go through the normal hiring procedures that the district requires.

This fact should have been a red flag to other school administrators of the superintendent's ill intentions, the claimant says, calling such action an "abuse of authority."

In the fall of 2010, the plaintiff alleges that he was invited to the superintendent's ranch home for the weekend. Although the request made him uncomfortable, he felt that because it was extended by his boss, he had little choice.

While there, the plaintiff says that the superintendent exposed himself to him and then proceeded to sexually assault him.

The superintendent would later say the interactions were mutual.

On at least three occasions, the plaintiff says he complained to the district, the final time alerting the district's general counsel after the superintendent had begun calling him at home. The plaintiff lodged a complaint. Nothing happened. No investigation. No reprimand.

In fact, the district urged him to simply drop it. As the plaintiff put it, the general counsel "actively lulled (him) into silence" by stringing him along, yet refusing to actually initiate a sexual harassment investigation.

By March of last year, the plaintiff had had enough. He filed a notice that he would be filing a claim.

Within two months, the school district had announced the Board of Education had agreed to settle for $200,000 with the manager, as well as to provide lifetime health benefits, in exchange for his resignation. But there was a problem: The claimant says not only did he not sign off on that deal, the district actively engaged in public shaming by naming him in a press release, something he believes was done maliciously.

The public fall-out of this action was brutal, with the plaintiff subjected to widespread public scrutiny and humiliation.

While the plaintiff had initially filed a lawsuit directly against the superintendent, that was later dismissed on a technicality. This new lawsuit names the district directly.

The 79-year-old superintendent retired the year after the alleged incident occurred.

The plaintiff is still working at the district, though it's unclear how long that may last. He says that not only have his work-related responsibilities been slashed significantly, but the district has also been retaliatory, on several occasions attempting to fire him.

Continue reading "Sexual Harassment Prevention Failures by LAUSD, Manager Says" »

For anthropologists and graduate students who aspire to the career, the chance to engage in fieldwork is viewed as a golden opportunity.

However, a new survey conducted by a female anthropologist at the University of Illinois reveals a much darker side of these journeys.

Our Los Angeles sexual assault attorneys understand that of the hundreds of female survey respondents, nearly one quarter said they had endured some form of unwanted sexual contact or physical sexual harassment.

The vast majority of the victims were female, though a few males did respond that they too had been victimized.

The primary aggressor in these situations were either colleagues who were higher up on the professional ladder or in some cases, the mentor of the victim.

The study was born out of a conversation that the primary researcher had with a female colleague. A male colleague had raped her while the two were in the field on assignment. When she reported the incident to her mentor, he simply urged her to remain silent, if she wanted to continue advancing in her career.

The study author then began maintaining a blog, where she allowed fellow anthropologists to anonymously submit stories of how they had been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted in the field. It was a way to open the eyes of her colleagues as to what was going on.

For some of those who responded, they reported harassment and abuse that went on for years. One said that she has been questioned about why she didn't leave or speak up sooner. She said like so many others, she had invested years into the research and into her graduate program. Changing professors would have meant a significant delay in graduation. Others in the field may think her unreliable. New professors will want to know why it was she left, but it would be a tough question to answer. If she leaves, she could have a tough time getting a recommendation from her old professor. That's going to limit her options.

The study, which was recently presented at the yearly American Association of Physical Anthropologists meeting in Tennessee, was a way to take all of this a step further.

Among the findings:

• About 30 percent of both men and women reported that verbal abuse with regard to inappropriate or sexual remarks at field sites was experienced either regularly or frequently.


• With regard to inappropriate sexual remarks, 63 percent of female anthropologists answered that they had personally experienced this. About 40 percent of men said the same.


• Nearly 25 percent of women said they had experienced unwanted physical contact or physical sexual harassment on a field site, while a small percentage of men said the same.


• Less than 20 percent of these incidents involved the people within the community where the study site was located. Rather, the primary abusers were within the team of researchers, usually by someone higher up professionally.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers want victims to understand that they are not alone. Even if the harassment occurred outside the country, the perpetrator, the school and others may still be held accountable for failing to prevent, failing to address and retaliation.

Continue reading "Report: Sexual Harassment Rampant in Anthropology Fieldwork" »

Frank O'Connell spent nearly three decades in prison for a Pasadena murder he didn't commit.

Now finally freed after nearly 10,000 days behind bars, he says it was the shoddy work of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department that put him there - and he is demanding restitution.

Our Los Angeles wrongful conviction attorneys are educated in forensic sciences, and we know that many cases such as these have arisen with the advent of DNA evidence. It's now becoming clear just how faulty the sheriff's department was in so many of its criminal investigations.

This case started back in 1984, when O'Connell, then a former high school football star, was reportedly involved in a romantic relationship with the victim's ex-wife who was involved in a custody battle with the victim over their young son.

The victim was gunned down in the parking lot of his South Pasadena apartment. O'Connell reportedly matched the vague description given by a witness, who was on the other side of the darkened parking lot that night.

O'Connell, who at the time had his own 4-year-old son, has maintained all along that he was with friends that night.

The trial by judge rather than a jury - at the defendant's request - was based mostly on eyewitness testimony. In particular, it involved one individual who heard the shots from across the parking lot.

However, that witness years later recanted, saying the reality was he never did get a good look at the suspect. However, he felt pressured by the sheriff's detectives to make a positive identification after he had tentatively identified O'Connell during a photograph lineup.

The witness said he had been more focused on the gun in the assailant's hand, as opposed to the man's facial features.

The defendant was ultimately sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. His case was later chosen for assistance from Centurion Ministries, a group dedicated to helping free innocent prisoners.

Centurion Ministries later learned that another man had confessed to no fewer than five people regarding the crime. Further, Los Angeles police detectives had maintained a file regarding that individual, which included information detailing a prior attempt to kill the victim in this case. That involved the ex-wife and a male friend of hers attempting to run over the victim.

However, this information was hidden by the investigators and not turned over to the defense prior to trial.

Earlier this year, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the defendant should be granted a new trial, primarily on the basis that the sheriff's department failed to disclose key records at the time of the trial that would have lead to another possible suspect. Additionally, there was evidence that they improperly influenced witnesses.

The district attorney's office has said it does not intend to retry him.

Now, he's taking legal action against the department with his lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages.

Continue reading "LASD Sued Over 1980s Wrongful Conviction" »

A black police officer who joined the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department in the late 1980s has won a $1.2 million verdict, after a jury found he was harassed on the basis of his race.

Our Los Angeles Sexual Assault Lawyers know that it took a great deal of courage for this 25-year veteran to speak out about the humiliation and mistreatment he suffered from his supervisor and colleagues.

This verdict is the latest in a string of judgments and settlements against the agency, which has faced dozens of allegations of cop-on-cop harassment, discrimination and retaliation. One after another, these cases have revealed an inherent ineptitude on the part of the department's administration to properly address these complaints when they are first made and appropriately discipline those responsible.

In fact, this verdict was the second seven-figure judgment the city had to pay in a week. Another claim involved two lesbian police officers, one of whom already retired, who had suffered for years with the sexual harassment of their supervisor.

In the case involving racial discrimination, the officer alleged he had endured the abuse for years. One example given at trial was when he requested to leave work early one day. His supervisor responded if his reasoning had to do with his needing to "go pick watermelons."

In another instance, he claimed, his supervisor brought in a cake to celebrate the officer's two decades of service. The cake was topped with a slice of watermelon and a piece of fried chicken.

Other officers testified that the plaintiff had laughed along with everyone else, even going so far as to eat a bite of the chicken cake-topper. However, people who are embarrassed, in shock and on the spot might not always verbally express their true feelings right at that moment.

A lieutenant for the department testified that the plaintiff was a willing participant in the ongoing, inappropriate racially vulgar banter. The jury disagreed.

The verdict followed the department's own internal investigation, which had resulted in a number of supervisors being either reassigned, demoted or terminated. Initially, the city offered to settle the case for $10,000. The plaintiff's attorney rejected that offer, instead suggesting a payment of $400,000, which the city rejected. Now it will be paying three times that amount.

Employees are protected from racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies to private employers as well as those in the federal, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor organizations.

Racial harassment may include derogatory or offensive remarks about a person's skin color or race, a display of racially-offensive symbols or racial slurs. Although the law doesn't specifically forbid simple teasing or an isolated, offhand comment, it may be considered harassment if it's severe or continues for some time.

The city's police chief said his agency had taken what was learned in this most recent action to heart in stepping up its efforts to create a working environment that lacks hostility.

Time will tell.

Continue reading "LAPD Loses $1.2M Lawsuit for Harassment of Black Officer" »