Marin deputy files sexual harassment lawsuit

Marin County Sheriff's detectives investigate the shooting deaths of two men in neighboring backyards on Carlota Circle in the Strawberry neighborhood of Mill Valley, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. Marin County Sheriff's detectives investigate the shooting deaths of two men in neighboring backyards on Carlota Circle in the Strawberry neighborhood of Mill Valley, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. Photo: Robert Tong, Associated Press Photo: Robert Tong, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Marin deputy files sexual harassment lawsuit 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A Marin County sheriff’s deputy filed a federal discrimination lawsuit Wednesday, saying she was subjected to sexually offensive comments and passed over for promotion because she is a woman.

The deputy, an 11-year veteran, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco under the pseudonym Jane Doe, saying she was doing so “for her personal safety and protection.”

She said she and other female deputy sheriffs were subjected to “gender-based discriminatory policies and practices, (a) hostile work environment where sexually offensive comments, and other sexually offensive matters, were a pervasive part of the workplace.”

The women were “too fearful to come forward and instead chose to tolerate this toxic environment,” the suit says.

The plaintiff had tried to speak out, “but it quickly became clear that she was not being taken seriously,” according to the suit. She chose not to pursue the issue further because she was a single mother and feared losing her job if she spoke out, the complaint says.

By 2012, she said she was subjected to sexually offensive comments on a “near daily basis.”

A male deputy “would start the day off by openly discussing his weekend sexual exploits with different women or his current girlfriend at the time,” the suit says. “His conversations would include explicit gender/sex talks and graphic details about his encounters. Over time, it got progressively worse.”

The plaintiff said she complained directly to the deputy and to supervisors but was rebuffed. “Instead, there was retaliation and exacerbation of the sexually hostile work environment,” the complaint says.

She said she was passed over for promotion to sergeant in favor of men.

Marin County sheriff’s Lt. Doug Pittman said, “Due to these allegations involving a personnel matter, it is not prudent for the sheriff’s office to make any comment at this time in respect to any and all parties involved.”