Orange County D.A.'s office again accused of sex harassment, retaliation in workplace

A former Orange County prosecutor alleges she was sexually harassed by a supervisor and retaliated against by superiors during her time at the Orange County district attorney's office, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

- SALVADOR HERNANDEZ

O.C. Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer, shown in 2022, and his office have faced multiple workplace lawsuits.

The legal action, filed last week in Orange County Superior Court, is the latest in a series of workplace lawsuits filed against Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer and his office, some of which have already been settled for millions of dollars and resulted in court rulings against Spitzer and his staff.

The most recent lawsuit, like previous ones, alleges an environment of retribution inside the prosecutor's office.

The former prosecutor, identified in court filings as Jane Doe, alleges that she received repeated unwanted advances and sexually suggestive texts from a supervisor, was passed over for promotions and unfairly became the subject of a disciplinary investigation when she took her complaints to the human resources department. The former deputy district attorney also alleges that she initially decided not to report her treatment out of fear that she would be targeted.

“She was expected to remain silent, avoid drawing attention, and endure mistreatment or face retaliatory punishment,” the lawsuit said.

The suit claims that Doe's supervisor, Jess Rodriguez, sent her unwanted, sexually suggestive texts, and would often go into her office to discuss his sex life and ask her about hers.

In one instance, Doe alleges Rodriguez texted her a message, telling her, "I need to get in some quality time watching you bend over to reach the projector." The alleged sexual harassment, according to the suit, began in April 2023. In another instance, Rodriguez allegedly texted her and asked what she was wearing the next day.

"Gimme something to have sweet dreams about tonight," the text said, according to the lawsuit.

Rodriguez did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations.