Filner named in first of three new sexual harassment lawsuits

Posted in Sexual Harassment on April 27, 2014

Those who read any of California’s major newspapers may have wondered if they were seeing an old story last week that somehow got mixed in with more recent news. In the Los Angeles Times, for instance, the headline says: “Sexual harassment lawsuit filed against ex-San Diego Mayor Bob Filner.” If you saw the headline, you may have asked yourself: Didn’t this already happen?

To be clear, the Times has not reprinted an old story. Another alleged victim of sexual harassment has recently filed a lawsuit against the disgraced politician. The lawsuit pertains to an episode which allegedly took place at an elementary school in May 2013.

The plaintiff claims that she was attending the public event that day, during which then-mayor Filner “interacted with students and teachers and brought city ‘swag’ to hand out and to promote city activities.” Sometime during his trip to the school, Filner allegedly “made repeated sexual advances and sexual comments” to the plaintiff, including groping, massaging and kissing her.

To make matters worse, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, the mayor’s police bodyguards “were present and witnessed Filner’s wrongful conduct, however, they failed to stop Filner or protect [the plaintiff].” It is unclear how the interaction began and whether or not Filner and the victim knew one another previously.

Although the lawsuit was filed earlier this month, it is somewhat reassuring to recognize that the alleged incident was not recent. Still, the fact that Mr. Filner continues to face new sexual harassment lawsuits is a testament to the far-reaching nature of this scandal.

In addition to this lawsuit, two more are pending. Hopefully, the cases will be resolved relatively quickly so that victims can receive some much-needed closure and Californians across the state can begin to put the scandal behind them.

Source: Los Angeles Times, “Sexual harassment lawsuit filed against ex-San Diego Mayor Bob Filner,” Tony Perry, April 17, 2014