Sex Parties, Underage Sex With Officers Alleged In Lawsuit Against Gilroy Police
GILROY (CBS SF) -- A longtime Gilroy police dispatcher is alleging members of the department engaged in sex parties and had sex with underage members of the police explorer program.
Patricia Harrell detailed a number of lurid accusation in a lawsuit against the city and police department, claiming she was fired in retaliation for speaking out against both the behavior and the harassment against her.
Harrell was a 26-year veteran at the department and a senior dispatcher when she was terminated.
In the lawsuit, Harrell alleged that during her tenure, "many employees began to create a culture of sexual promiscuity, harassment, intimidation, and sexual assault within the GPD."
Harrell named a number of co-workers who were allegedly involved in the misconduct, such as parties involving sex among GPD officers and employees. She also alleged in the complaint that two officers "had sexual intercourse with members of the Gilroy Explorers, comprised of youth ranging in age from fourteen (14) to twenty-one (21)."
Read the full complaint (.pdf)
"Gilroy is a very small community," said Harrell's attorney, Lori Costanzo. "It took a lot of courage for her to come forward."
The suit said one officer was demoted and later reinstated at his same rank, while the other was allowed to resign and is currently seeking employment as a police officer with other agencies.
Harrell also alleged one of her supervisors made sexual advances toward her, and she detailed parties in which intoxicated GPD employees would expose their genitalia, grope each other sexually, and take pictures of women exposing themselves.
For example, during a Christmas party the lawsuit claims spouses of two officers
... were outrageously intoxicated and were sexually touching both males and females (including each other). Also several people at the party were taking pictures of females exposing their private parts.
...
At office parties, GPD employees would throw their keys in a bowl and whoever pulled a key had sex with the person who owned the key.
"It was just a wife-swapping, kind of spouse-swapping, kind of voyeuristic environment," said Costanzo. "It was very unprofessional, and it was creating a hostile work environment."
When Harrell would refuse to condone the sexually-charged culture and complained to superiors, she claimed she was punished with shift changes, additional workloads and other discipline before she was eventually fired.
Harrell lost her job three years shy of her retirement age, meaning she'd lost full pension benefits. The given reason for the firing was how she treated trainees. But Costanzo said the truth is in the lawsuit.
The city of Gilroy said it takes the lawsuit seriously, and that the allegations are simply allegations until fully addressed in a court of law.
"We're hoping that now that this is out in the open they'll do the right thing," said Costanzo. "They'll step up and take ownership of what was going on and make our client whole."