Sex Harassment Suit Against Police Settled : Mediation: Newport will pay $1.2 million to seven women. Former captain, ex-chief have consistently denied allegations.

The city will pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit brought by seven current and former female Police Department employees who accused former department leaders of sexual harassment and discrimination.

The women had accused former Capt. Anthony Villa of fondling and harassing them, behavior they alleged was condoned by former Chief Arb Campbell.

The women, who will not be returning to the department, declined comment on the settlement through their lawyer, Steven Pingel, who said they hoped to begin the “healing process.”

“I’m very proud of my clients,” he said. “They have shown remarkable courage and have obviously contributed to the dramatic improvement in the work environment at the Police Department.”

The City Council voted 6 to 1 last week in closed session to settle the case without admitting liability, and made the arrangement final Wednesday. Councilman John W. Hedges cast the lone dissenting vote.

“I feel that there are larger issues involved,” he said. “The plaintiffs should be required to prove their allegations in the court before a jury.”

Police Chief Robert J. McDonell, who was hired in June, 1993, to replace Campbell, said in a statement that he was pleased the case has been resolved.

“The ongoing requirements of dealing with this issue have consumed an enormous amount of time and emotional energy from everyone involved, and even from those only peripherally affected,” he said.

“The Police Department can now devote our energy in more productive ways which will benefit the entire community, and that’s good news for all of us.”

The allegations, which surfaced in 1992, shook the department and the city and led to sexual harassment awareness training for all city employees. Mayor Clarence J. Turner said awareness of the issue has increased, as it has nationwide.

“It’s time for us to move on,” he said.

Campbell and Villa, who were fired after an investigation, have consistently denied all of the allegations. They ultimately were reinstated and allowed to resign with full benefits.

Their attorney, Jeffrey Epstein, released a statement saying they believe a jury would have returned a verdict in their favor but agreed to the settlement to avoid trial costs.

Police officers Cheryl Vlacilek and Katherine Heinzel will receive settlements of $300,000 and $150,000, respectively, and will be allowed to take disability retirements from the department.

Officer Rochell Maier will receive $115,000 and be reinstated to her job and allowed to resign.

Records supervisor Mary Jane Ruetz will receive $360,000. She, Maier and Vlacilek all contended they were fired on unrelated, trumped-up charges after spurning Villa’s advances.

Communications supervisor Margaret McInnis will receive $100,000 and dispatcher Molly Thomson $95,000. Animal control officer Michelle LeFay will receive $10,000.

The settlement, reached through mediation, heads off an Orange County Superior Court trial scheduled for February. The city estimated it would have cost another $1.4 million to take the case to trial, which could have lasted three to four months. The city has spent about $2 million just on attorney fees, Turner said.

Since the allegations surfaced, the city had paid $275,000 to other former female employees of the department to settle their harassment claims.

The latest settlement is believed to have been one of the largest of its kind, if not the largest, involving an Orange County police department. The case was just one of several similar ones in the past two years.

Cypress agreed in February to pay $60,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the Police Department’s first female sergeant. In 1992, Buena Park lost two sexual harassment lawsuits, and last year, Garden Grove paid a $180,000 settlement to a former reserve police officer who said she was fired for ending a romantic relationship with a former police chief.

Another large settlement came in 1993 when Long Beach paid nearly $3 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by two of that city’s former policewomen.