New York Paralegal Blog

WASHINGTON– Mark John Walker, 52, of Eugene, Ore., pleaded guilty today to charges related to his engaging in sexual contact or aggravated sexual abuse with female offenders who were under his direct supervision as a federal probation officer from 2006 to 2009. Sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2011 before Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline, who is a visiting judge from Alaska. As a U.S. Probation Officer, Walker supervised offenders who were serving probation or supervised release terms imposed by a federal judge, including offenders with vulnerable backgrounds involving sexual abuse, mental illness and drug addiction. Walker had the power to recommend that offenders who violated their conditions of probation or supervised release be incarcerated or otherwise sanctioned. Under the U.S. Constitution and federal law, law enforcement officials cannot use their authority to willfully sexually assault individuals under their control. While exercising his authority as a ...

MILWAUKEE -- The McDonald’s restaurant in Reedsburg, Wis. , owned and operated by Missoula Mac, Inc., violated federal civil rights laws by permitting male employees to create a hostile work environment of sexual harassment against female employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed this morning in federal district court in Madison, Wis. The EEOC filed suit on behalf of a class of women it said were subjected to sexual comments, sexual propositions, or physical touching by co-workers. The suit also alleges that some of the women were fired in retaliation for complaining about the sexually hostile work environment and that the harassment was so intolerable that at least one woman was forced to quit her job to avoid it. John Rowe, director of EEOC’s Chicago District, which includes Wisconsin, noted that the agency’s administrative investigation, which preceded the lawsuit, revealed that male employees at the Reedsburg McDonald’s mad...

LOS ANGELES – Adam Brothers Farming, Inc., a farm in Santa Maria, Calif., that harvests and cans vegetables, will pay $27,500 and furnish other relief to settle a federal sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a teen Latina female, the agency announced today. The victim, a former vegetable packer, initially worked for Adam Brothers without incident in 2004 and 2005, according to the EEOC. Upon return to work in 2006, a male supervisor immediately began sexually harassing the teen by brushing his body against her backside, making lewd gestures with his tongue, asking to perform oral sex on her, and ultimately grabbing her private parts, the EEOC said. The teen reported the harassment to a foreman and was subsequently transferred, disciplined and fired within two weeks of complaint in June 2006. The EEOC contends that the harasser also threatened other workers by stating that the victim’s friends would pay...

In his role as a minister, Jeremy Fulton was trusted by parents who unknowingly put their daughters in the hands of a sexual predator who plead guilty to raping and sexually abusing five girls who attended his church. Although, he is expected to be sentenced to 22 years in prison, I think that he should have been castrated and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Those young girls should not have their emotional healing interrupted with the knowledge that their rapist will be out and free to abuse other young victims in 22 years. What do you think? Please, feel free to leave a comment. By: Joel Irving See, related story>>

Brand Energy Fired Employee for Refusing Supervisor’s Requests for Sex, Federal Agency Charged NEW ORLEANS – Four related national construction companies -- Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, Inc., Brand Services, LLC, Brand Energy Solutions, LLC, and Brand Scaffold Services, LLC (Brand) -- will pay $110,000 to settle a suit for sexual harassment and retaliation filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced on 2/23/2011. The court-approved settlement resolves the charge of a former employee, Jauronice Hayes, who worked for Brand at its Conoco Phillips facility in Belle Chasse, La.