A renowned philosopher and longtime University of California, Berkeley, professor groped a former student who worked for him, according to a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court, which also claims the student was fired after she declined his advances. The professor, John R. Searle, abruptly stepped down from teaching his undergraduate philosophy course in March but still enjoys emeritus status at the university, which has been rocked by professor–student sexual misconduct scandals since 2015.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Joanna Ong, 24, is seeking damages for sexual harassment and assault as well as for wrongful termination and creation of a hostile work environment.

“As a philosopher, Searle should be familiar with the concept of coercion,” Ong told BuzzFeed News. Instead, she said, he and the university have “used their power and platform to abuse others.”

The lawsuit, which lists Searle and the Regents of the University of California as defendants, claims Searle groped Ong in his office after he told her “they were going to be lovers.” He also said he had an “emotional commitment to making her a public intellectual,” the complaint states, and that he was “going to love her for a long time.” Ong turned Searle down and reported him to other UC Berkeley employees, but they did nothing, the complaint states. Instead, Searle cut Ong’s salary and she was eventually fired, according to the complaint, which also claims Searle watched pornography at work and made sexist comments.

Searle, 84, is famous for his work in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind and has taught at UC Berkeley since 1959. In 2016, the university unveiled the John Searle Center for Social Ontology, which says it is the first center of its kind in the country. That’s where Ong, a 2014 Berkeley graduate and a former student of Searle’s, was offered a job, according to the lawsuit.

The offer was unorthodox: Ong would make just $1,000 a month as a consultant for the center, but her salary would be supplemented by Searle, who would pay her $3,000 extra per month to be his assistant, the complaint states. Since the center’s director, Jennifer Hudin, was a “trusted advisor” of Ong’s from her undergraduate years, and because Ong wanted a chance to work for Searle, one of UC Berkeley’s most esteemed philosophers, she took the job in July 2016.

The first few days went well, the complaint states. As Ong transcribed notes and composed emails for Searle, she shared her concerns about pursuing a career in academia while also making ends meet.

Searle reassured Ong “that her living costs and other needs would be taken care of, and that they should have a relationship of ‘total trust’ between each other,” the complaint states.