Sex Harassment Alleged in O.C. Sheriff’s Dept.

One of the highest-ranking women in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department filed a lawsuit this week describing the department as a place where female employees are sexually harassed, denied promotion and routinely exploited.

Lt. Wendy Costello alleged that Sheriff Brad Gates contributed to the overall atmosphere by once asking her and other organizers of a charity golf tournament to bring along bimbos with large breasts who could flirt with potential donors.

But in an interview Wednesday, Gates described his department as a “tight-knit family” and said he was skeptical about whether the extreme behavior described in the lawsuit had taken place. He denied making the comments attributed to him in the lawsuit.

“That’s the part that really hurts me personally,” Gates said. “It’s absolutely not true. I assure the people of this community and this department: It’s not true. I stand on my credibility.”

Gates said he was especially surprised by the allegations because he had worked closely with Costello and her co-workers in the past 10 months and was never alerted to any problems.

“It’s disturbing and a shock,” Gates said. “No one mentioned anything to me, and [Costello] had many opportunities to speak one on one with the sheriff.”

The most serious allegations in the lawsuit filed Tuesday were directed at Costello’s supervisor, Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer. Costello said she suffered a barrage of unwanted sexual advances, gropings and threats by LaDucer after he became her immediate supervisor in April 1996.

LaDucer declined comment through department spokesman Lt. Ron Wilkerson, who added that a department policy prevents him from commenting on pending litigation.

LaDucer, 52, has been on paid administrative leave since last month, when Costello’s initial complaint spurred an internal investigation that is continuing.

Costello, 36, who is on unpaid leave, is seeking unspecified damages for mental, emotional and physical injuries, according to her attorney, Pat Thistle, who said he also represents two other female employees of the Sheriff’s Department who allege they are victims of sexual harassment.

“This is a case of institutional terrorism against women, and it’s been going on there a long time,” Thistle said.

Costello did not come forward with her complaints until recently because she feared it would mean the end of her law enforcement career, Thistle said. It was only after a recent confrontation with LaDucer that the 14-year-veteran said she began to fear for her safety and decided to make her complaints known, the attorney said.

“It was made clear to her long ago that if you say anything, that’s it, you’re done,” Thistle said. “Yes, this suit closes the door on that career. She’s got no career left.”

In her lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court, Costello said women under LaDucer’s command “paired up” whenever possible to avoid his relentless advances. He pressured them into taking lengthy lunchtime excursions with him, loitered at their desks and insisted on touching them, the suit states.

LaDucer referred to Costello as “Wendy-poo” and made public comments that suggested the two were having an affair, the suit claims. He refused her transfer requests and insisted that she accompany him to public events, the suit states.

The suit also alleged that during a trip to the FBI Academy in Virginia, LaDucer directed Costello to drive through winding back roads while he recounted his sexual conquests. According to the suit, those accounts were followed by LaDucer’s threat: “Don’t ever make me angry, or you will regret it.”

Later on that same trip, the suit alleges, LaDucer pinned Costello against a wall in a hotel hallway and forcibly kissed her.

On another trip, this one to visit with Mexican law enforcement leaders, Costello was humiliated when LaDucer described her in sexual terms to the hosting officials and then suggestively rubbed up against her during a group photo, the suit claims.

Costello said she felt that Gates gave tacit approval to the workplace attitude toward women. Costello alleges that the sheriff made reference last year to recruiting “a bunch of blond bimbos with big boobs” for a 1996 event that raised $150,000 for anti-drug programs.

Gates’ statements contributed to the overall tone of the workplace, the suit alleges, where male peers left photos of scantily clad women on Costello’s desk and stuck a feminine napkin to the seat of her car.

Gates was adamant Wednesday that he would never condone such behavior. “I conduct myself right, where ever I am. I try to be professional, just as I expect everyone in this department to do.”