LONG BEACH : City Prosecutor Sues for Bias and Sex Harassment
A deputy city prosecutor filed a lawsuit in Superior Court on Wednesday alleging that attorneys in the Long Beach prosecutor’s office subjected her to ongoing sexual harassment, discrimination and other improprieties.
Lynda Vitale, in charge of misdemeanor domestic abuse cases for the prosecutor’s office from 1990 to 1994, said she encountered harassment and hostility toward herself and other women, including female crime victims.
Vitale took a stress-related leave of absence from her job in June.
Vitale is seeking unspecified general and punitive damages against the city of Long Beach, City Prosecutor John Vander Lans, and two other attorneys in the office. The prosecutor’s office refused to comment.
The prosecutor’s office is responsible for handling cases in which spouses are attacked but not seriously injured. More serious cases are handled by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
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