8 More Women Recount Sexual Abuse While Working At CA Resort

PALOS VERDES, CA – Eight women, all employed or formerly employed at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, came forward with stories of alleged sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct during a press conference call Thursday morning. The new allegations come nearly a year after Sandra Pezqueda, a former dishwasher at the resort, was named one of TIME Magazine’s Silence Breakers for a lawsuit against the resort and the Excel, staffing agency that directly employed her. In the lawsuit, Pezqueda alleged she was sexually harassed and assaulted by a supervisor and then terminated after reporting the abuse – it was settled for $250,000, TIME Magazine reported.

Organizations including California NOW, The Feminist Majority and SAG-AFTRA pledged their support for the Terranea Resort silence breakers and committed not to do business with the property or its ownership group Lowe Enterprises in response to the new allegations, the press release said.

“We recognize and applaud their courage in coming forth, and we want them to know that they are not alone in this fight,” said long-time workers’ advocate Maria Elena Durazo, who led the press conference.

Pezqueda was employed through a temporary staffing agency at Terranea Resort, and according to the lawsuit she was sexually harassed by a male supervisor from the agency who she alleged pursued her sexually over a period of months and tried to kiss her in a storage room.

When she neglected his sexual advances, the supervisor allegedly retaliated against her, changing her schedule and cutting her hours so that she was working too little to support herself, according to the lawsuit. After Pezqueda came forward to report the sexual harassment, she was fired, the press release said. She later settled with the staffing agency, which agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve all claims in the suit; the terms of the settlement released all parties, including Terranea Resort, of liabilities, TIME magazine reported.

“When I broke my silence and the world saw the type of harassment that has gone on at the Terranea Resort, I hoped things would change,” said Pezqueda. “Now it breaks my heart to hear more stories and a failure by the Terranea Resort to support important reforms like a panic buttons law so that women can protect themselves.”

Silvia Jasmin Sanchez spoke publicly about her time at the Terranea Resort for the first time this week. The former uniform attendant filed a lawsuit in August claiming a supervisor who was working in Terranea Resort’s security department harassed her. Sanchez alleges that the security supervisor sent her sexually offensive text messages in which he claimed that he could watch her through a camera that is “[o]n top of you looking down your shirt” and subsequently assaulted her in the workplace, the press release said.

“I am breaking my silence about what happens at the Terranea Resort so others can feel safe to do the same,” said Sanchez. “What happened to me is something that no one should have to endure.”

Seven other women in addition to Sanchez came forward in sworn declarations alleging they experienced sexual harassment and other misconduct of a sexual nature while working at the resort, the press release said.

"The women’s declarations described alleged instances where guests exposed themselves to housekeepers when they went to clean guest rooms – including an instance in which male managers repeatedly joked about the woman’s experience after she reported it – as well as unwanted sexual attention from supervisors and co-workers," according to the press release.

California NOW president Kolieka Seigle, Feminist Majority co-founder Katherine Spillar, and labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta joined Pezqueda and Sanchez on the press conference call and pledged their support to the women.

"Now is a time of women standing together in support of silence breakers like Sandra, Jasmin and the other women who are coming forward to share their own stories of working at the Terranea Resort,” said Seigle. “We’re going to make sure people know the Terranea Resort is not a place to do business with.”

The group is calling on companies, partners and consumers to cut ties with the Terranea Resort until "it's a place where women are treated with dignity and respect and have the protections they need to be safe from sexual harassment and assault." Updates will be posted on MeTooTerranea.com

"We have a zero-tolerance policy toward unlawful harassment of any kind. Terranea takes all staff comments and concerns very seriously, as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure our associates have a workplace in which they feel valued, respected and safe," a Terranea Resort spokesperson told Patch. "The recent outcry against sexual harassment at work has gained a significant amount of attention, and Terranea supports those who are speaking out against such injustices."

Related: 'It Gave Me Panic Attacks': CA Hotel Workers Recount Sexual Abuse

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