California County Settles a Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit Against a Former Public Defender for $3 Million

San Bernardino County has agreed to pay more than $3 million to settle a lawsuit in which four former employees of the Public Defender’s Office alleged a rampant culture of sexual harassment and other misconduct, their attorney announced Friday, July 28.

Public defender investigators Stacy Thacker and Michelle Vanderlinden, Deputy Public Defender Laura Alvarez, and office assistant Gricelda Arciniega sued the county and former Public Defender Gregory Christopher “Chris” Gardner in November 2021. They alleged a longstanding culture of sexual harassment and misconduct by top management where complaints fell on deaf ears.

“We alleged that this was a case about abuse of power of an agency where the managers believed they were above the law, but no one is above the law,” said Bradley Gage, the Woodland Hills attorney who represents the four women, in a news release on Friday.

Read the source article at The Press-Enterprise