LA County Seeks To Toss Deputy’s $4M Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, CA — Attorneys for Los Angeles County are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a sheriff's deputy who alleges she was wrongfully demoted earlier in 2022 for resisting sexual harassment by a close associate of then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva, arguing there are no witnesses to her claims.

Deputy Lorraine Anda's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges sexual harassment and retaliation. She also names Lt. Jennifer Ford, the alleged harasser, as a defendant and seeks at least $4 million in damages.

On Friday, county attorneys filed court papers with Judge Thomas D. Long in advance of a Jan. 26 hearing arguing that Anda's sexual harassment and retaliation claims are "meritless" and not triable issues.

"In recent cross-examination, plaintiff conceded her motivation to report supposed sexual harassment was because she got upset at Lt. Ford for criticism about a training drill," the county's attorneys state in their court papers. "But the icing on the cake for the defense is that at her recent deposition, plaintiff unequivocally admitted on cross-examination that she has perjured herself and made material false allegations against Lt. Ford in this lawsuit under oath."

By not confronting, reporting or addressing for months any alleged sexual harassment demonstrates at minimum that any alleged conduct Ford was not severe or pervasive in order to meet harassment standards under the law, county lawyers state in their court papers.

"That, coupled with plaintiff's admissions that she ... falsified multiple material allegations, as well as lied about the supposed sexual contact, is legally sufficient to establish that plaintiff's sexual harassment claim is devoid of any merit," the county attorneys write in their pleadings.

In their previous court papers, county lawyers said Anda also has conceded in discovery in her deposition that there are no witnesses to the alleged sexual harassment.

Anda, hired in 2000, was promoted to sergeant in December 2018 and was assigned to Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, where she served as reception sergeant, the suit states. Ford, who was Anda's relief worker, watched the plaintiff undress and sometimes put a hand on one of her shoulders while she was dressing in the locker room, the suit states.

Ford became hostile to Anda after an incident in the locker room in which the plaintiff pulled away from the lieutenant to show her resistance to the other woman's alleged advances, according to the suit.

Ford was a close friend of Villanueva, who regularly retaliated against whistleblowers and any employee speaking out about harassment, the suit states.

Ford sought out deputies who had engaged in unsafe conduct and told them to lie and file grievances claiming Anda bullied them over their conduct, the suit states. Ford then used the deputies' fake allegations to start an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation into Anda, the suit filed in November 2022 states.

Anda was demoted to deputy in March 2022 and her pay was reduced, the suit states. Trial of her lawsuit is scheduled March 1.

City News Service