Correctional Officer Suing Yolo County Sheriff For Sexual Harassment
WOODLAND (CBS13) - A Yolo County deputy is suing her own sheriff for sexual harassment, claiming she's put up with the him hugging and kissing her for 14 years.
Ed Prieto, the top cop in Yolo County, is now the target of a federal sexual harassment lawsuit and investigation. Correctional officer Victoria Zetwick says for more than a decade Prieto has forced himself on her with unwanted touching.
Her federal complaint says "plaintiff estimates that over the course of 14 years with the sheriff's department, with Prieto as sheriff, he has hugged her at least a hundred times."
She also claims shortly after she got married, Prieto took it to the next level. "Prieto kissed plaintiff on the lips. Plaintiff was shocked and told her husband."
Zetwick and her husband's neighbors are bothered by the newly revealed allegations.
"Just the nicest people you could live around, both of them," one neighbor said. "It's the second time I've heard of it."
Prieto refused to talk on camera but released a statement to CBS13 saying: "I'm offended by these misleading statements. However, the Yolo County Sheriff's Department takes these allegations seriously and a thorough investigation will be conducted by an outside party."
Zetwick says over the years she expressed her concerns to her immediate supervisors, but nothing was done.
She says she feels uncomfortable every time the sheriff is around her, not knowing if she'll be touched again. She's seeking monetary damage and a jury trial.
