Another person has joined the civil suit against a former Nashville public schools principal related to allegations of sexual harassment.

Scott Lindsey, a former human resources investigator with Metro Nashville Public Schools, has joined an ongoing suit against former John F. Kennedy Middle School principal Sam Braden. Lindsey said he was forced to resign as retaliation for responding to claims of sexual harassment against Braden.

The filing was submitted to Davidson County Circuit Court on Monday.

Braden announced his retirement after he was placed on administrative leave with pay in July.

Allegations of hostile working environment

The allegations against Braden include reports of repeated unwanted sexual commentary and inappropriate physical conduct with three named plaintiffs, all of whom were employees of JFK Middle School at the time.

Lindsey’s investigation of the claims, according to the filing, was repeatedly shut down by the human resources department's executive officer, Sharon Pertiller.

“As an entity, MNPS has a policy and practice of ignoring complaints of sexual harassment, as well as interfering with investigations of harassment,” the filing said.

Other allegations in the suit include that Braden spread rumors about the plaintiffs and threatened other employees with “writing them out of the budget” if they refused to corroborate false disciplinary records against the plaintiffs.

Braden has denied all major allegations in his response to the suit. But MNPS, also a defendant, said in their response that some claims against Braden involving inappropriate behavior and comments were true.

Braden denied telling other teachers one of the plaintiffs “was in love with him and wants his body,” but the district admitted the claim to be true in court filings. The district also didn't dispute the claims that Braden “grabbed her for an extended period of time,” and told her “he wished she would leave.”

MNPS also admitted the claims that one plaintiff reported Braden “made statements to him about somebody else in which he referenced his penis size," and several other school employees reported Braden making comments about a teacher's genital area.

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Investigation shut down by Metro HR, suit says

At least some of these reports landed on Lindsey’s desk.

Based on the severity of the claims, the suit said, Lindsey drafted and sent a letter to place Braden on administrative leave.

But Pertiller tore it up, according to the suit.

Metro Schools admits the letter was destroyed, but said it was because it was in the wrong format. The original complaint said the letter was destroyed to protect Braden.

"MNPS has engaged in a pattern of practice of protecting defendant Braden by dismissing complaints against him, despite overwhelming evidence that he consistently violated the school’s anti-harassment policies for many years," the suit said.

Moreno Carrasco case also named

Lindsey was also involved in the investigation of Moreno Carrasco, the former MNPS executive officer of organizational developmentwho resigned from the district on Dec. 8, 2017, after allegations of sexual harassment.

“The HR employee (Lindsey) was given a baseless written reprimand immediately after the Carrasco investigation. After the attempted Braden investigation, the HR employee was forced to resign in lieu of termination,” the complaint said.

During the Carrasco case, Lindsey's filing asserts his investigation hit roadblocks at every turn due to Pertiller’s actions. The district denied any improper action by Pertiller and denied that Lindsey was forced out.

Allegations against Carrasco were reported to MNPS board member Amy Frogge in the summer of 2017, and passed on to MNPS Employee Relations, where Director of Schools Shawn Joseph became aware of the case, Lindsey said.

A formal complaint was made in November, after which Lindsey was assigned to the case. He was not informed, he said, of the earlier allegations, which Pertiller allegedly knew about, nor was he allowed by her to interview Joseph or Frogge, according to the filing.

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MNPS HR practices under review

In the course of this summer’s revelations, James Wheeler, MNPS head of security, was placed on administrative leave in August. Two Nashville schools principals left the district after being placed on administrative leave, and Smith Springs Elementary Principal Lance High resigned this summer after being placed on administrative leave after allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Joseph said at the time the investigation began this summer that he wanted to ensure that "we look over our policies, our practice for handling investigations, and we look over cases that were done over the last year so as to ensure that no stone was left unturned."

Joseph also provided an anonymous, third-party hotline for staff to report any incidents: 877-647-3335.

Jason Gonzales contributed to this report. Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.