PENINSULA / Ex-worker is third to sue over gorilla / Woman says she had to show her breasts to Koko

KOKO-C-02AUG00-MN-HO--Koko the gorilla and her kitten. PHOTO CREDIT: RON COHEN/GORILLA FOUNDATION Ran on: 02-18-2005 Koko the Gorilla seems to smile as she looks at a kitten. Koko has had many pets during her years at the Gorilla Foundation. Ran on: 02-18-2005 Koko and friend less KOKO-C-02AUG00-MN-HO--Koko the gorilla and her kitten. PHOTO CREDIT: RON COHEN/GORILLA FOUNDATION Ran on: 02-18-2005 Koko the Gorilla seems to smile as she looks at a kitten. Koko has had many pets during her ... more Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close PENINSULA / Ex-worker is third to sue over gorilla / Woman says she had to show her breasts to Koko 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Another former employee of the Gorilla Foundation has filed a lawsuit saying that she was repeatedly forced to partially disrobe in front of Koko the "talking" ape.

Redwood City resident Iris Rivera, 39, revealed her breasts to Koko seven or eight times in a two-month period last summer, according to a suit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court this week -- seven days after a similar legal claim from two San Francisco women who also had worked for the internationally known Woodside nonprofit.

Unlike Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, who ignored foundation President Francine Patterson's pressure to expose themselves, Rivera acquiesced.

"She took it as a disagreeable duty of her employment," said Rivera's lawyer, Michael Adams, in a phone interview.

Redwood City attorney Todd Roberts, representing the Gorilla Foundation, said, "We're confident there's no merit to either of these lawsuits. We are not going to dignify the allegations with a response."

He said the foundation's position was exactly the same as the statement posted on its Web site in regard to last week's lawsuit.

"We unequivocally deny the hurtful allegations of the lawsuit and intend to vigorously defend the case through trial, if necessary," the statement said in part.

Rivera was hired as an administrative assistant in February 2004 but wasn't introduced to Koko until June.

"To Rivera's shock and surprise, Patterson informed Rivera that Koko was communicating by sign language that 'she wants to see your nipples,' " the suit alleged. "When Rivera expressed her incredulity at the apparent request, Patterson pressured Rivera to comply, telling her, 'Everyone does it for her around here' and telling Koko to 'calm down' and 'just give her time.'

"Rivera then reluctantly raised her T-shirt briefly to reveal her bra, but Rivera admonished her that Koko 'wants to see the nipples (italicized in the suit).' Rivera grudgingly complied. Patterson then exclaimed, 'Oh look, Koko, she has big nipples.' "

The sessions ended in August, Adams said, after what he described as a particularly unsettling encounter.

One of Koko's handlers told Rivera that the loquacious primate -- best- known for her purported 1,000-word American Sign Language vocabulary -- indicated that she wanted to be alone with Rivera.

"My client was getting some rudimentary signing from Koko," he said by phone from his Redwood City office. " 'Let down your hair. Lie down on the floor. Show your breasts again. Close your eyes.' My client peeped out and saw Koko slowly kneel down and start squatting and breathing heavily. My client got spooked and ran out of the trailer."

Although Koko was confined to a wire cage, her behavior was suggestive to the point that Rivera didn't want to wait around and find out what might come next, Adams said.

And she refused to go near the 33-year-old lowland gorilla again, Adams added.

On previous occasions, Adams said, Patterson would watch Rivera expose herself to Koko. And the gorilla would take it all in, the lawyer said, "with wide-open, staring eyes."

Rivera quit on Jan. 13 and has found office work elsewhere, Adams said.

The suit alleges sexual and disability discrimination, invasion of privacy and Labor Code violations. It asks for unspecified general, special and punitive damages, and also names Patterson and Gary Stanley, director of educational technology at the foundation. Stanley, reached by phone, referred all questions to lawyer Roberts.

The suit says Rivera was treated for an ectopic pregnancy last fall, missed several weeks of work and returned in November under "medical limitations" that Stanley ignored.

Rivera developed panic attacks and an anxiety disorder, prompting Stanley to harass and ridicule her, the suit also claims.

In addition, it alleges unpaid overtime and refusal to allow meal and rest breaks.