Crime & Safety
County Settles with Former Sheriff's Deputy for Alleged Sexual Misconducts by East L.A. Deputies 'Clique'
The 'Banditos' clique sexually harassed female trainees and demanded sexual favors as a part of an initiation, according to the lawsuits.
LOS ANGELES, CA - A former sheriff's deputy and Los Angeles County tentatively settled the woman's two lawsuits alleging she was harassed and eventually fired for objecting to sexual misconduct by a clique of East Los Angeles station deputies who called themselves the "Banditos," her attorney said Wednesday.
The "Banditos" sexually harassed female trainees and demanded sexual favors as a part of an initiation, according to the lawsuits filed by lawyer Christopher Brizzolara on behalf of ex-Deputy Guadalupe Lopez.
Brizzolara said the tentative settlement was reached Tuesday, but declined to state the terms, including whether they include the plaintiff's reinstatement into the department. He said the accord is subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors.
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Lopez was assigned to the sheriff's East Los Angeles station beginning in 2011. She filed her first lawsuit in March 2014.
Lawyers for the county maintained that Lopez failed to fully explore her internal remedies within the sheriff's department before filing the first complaint, that the lawsuit lacked merit and that the county took immediate corrective action.
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Lopez brought the second action last July, just months after she was fired.
According to Lopez, the "Banditos" were made up of about 80 deputies whose members had tattoos of a skeleton with a sombrero, bandoleer and pistol. Deputies seeking to join were dubbed "prospects" or "puppies," according to her court papers.
The lawsuits alleged that in retaliation for reporting the clique's traditions, Lopez was once run off the road by another deputy, was slammed into a wall while she held a loaded shotgun and that a dead rat was placed under her car.
Lopez also alleged she was shown photos of other female deputies performing sexual favors for male deputies.
Lopez, who has a master's degree, "made it known (to the 'Banditos') that she was not interested in partying and that family, career and education were her priorities," according to her lawsuits.
--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock
