She took an unpaid stress leave from Oct. Klenke reached out to Warner in August to express concerns about the way her original complaint was handled, and said she feared her second complaint would be handled the same way, according to the lawsuit.Ī month later, prisoners in one of the segregation units began harassing Klenke about the complaint she made against Cunningham, according to the lawsuit.īetween the prisoners and Cunningham, Klenke feared for her safety and was under "immense stress," according to the lawsuit. The warden, Greg Skipper, called Klenke to "reassure her that he had nothing to do with her shift change and that it was her union's fault." She was reassigned to a different shift, causing her to take a pay cut, according to the lawsuit. He continued to sexually harass her and make her feel uncomfortable by unnecessarily being in her presence at work. The head of internal affairs at MDOC filed a lawsuit in December accusing Warner of improperly attempting to change the results of investigations into alleged prison wrongdoing.Īfter Klenke learned Cunningham was talking about her to other officers, in July she filed another formal complaint. The lawsuit alleges Kathy Warner, who is in charge of the Office of Executive Affairs, changed the outcome of Klenke's complaint, something she has a history of doing, according to the lawsuit. "We know women are already reluctant to come forward (about sexual harassment), and often for a good reason, so this further erodes trust and confidence in a system that's meant to ensure fairness," Fielstra said. Cunningham was not disciplined and continued to sexually harass her, she alleged. Klenke never received follow-up or documentation regarding the status of her complaint or a decision, according to the lawsuit. This was not the first time a complaint had been filed against Cunningham, Klenke's attorney, Hannah Fielstra, said.īut despite Klenke's complaint being substantiated by internal affairs, the outcome of the investigation was changed to be unfounded, according to the lawsuit. He began changing her assignments, sometimes to a more favorable position to "show her that a personal relationship with (Cunningham) would be beneficial to her," according to the lawsuit.Ĭunningham continued to harass her, and Klenke filed a harassment complaint with MDOC, according to the lawsuit. He continued to text her and in late June 2019, he sent her flowers at work and embarrassed her, the lawsuit alleges. Klenke told Cunningham she did not want to have a personal relationship anymore and asked him to keep interactions professional, according to the lawsuit. 'I was afraid of the people I worked with': Former Michigan prison officer says sexual harassment left her afraid for her lifeĢ018 review: Feds: Michigan prison agency needs to step up against sex harassment Inside MDOC: Female officers face widespread sexual harassment in Michigan's prison system A 2018 Detroit Free Press investigation found female employees have faced widespread sexual discrimination and harassment, and often are retaliated against if they complained about it. In 2019, MDOC paid $1.1 million to Shannon Woods, a female probation officer, to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. This is not the first time a woman has spoken up about sexual harassment within the MDOC. MDOC employees receive routine training on these important matters and it is made clear the MDOC will not tolerate any form of retaliation."Ĭunningham was not able to be reached for comment. "Retaliation is not acceptable in any way and is not allowed. "All employees are prohibited from engaging in discriminatory harassment and managers and supervisors are required to report allegations once they become aware of them," Gautz wrote in an emailed statement. Michigan Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz indicated he was unable to comment on the lawsuit, but said discriminatory harassment was not tolerated within the MDOC. But once Klenke found out Cunningham was married and he told other staff about their relationship, called her frequently during his days off and visited her on her assignments while at work, she began to feel uncomfortable. Sgt. Mario Cunningham began sexually harassing Kristy Klenke around June 2019, according to a federal lawsuit she filed last month.Ĭunningham, who is a supervisor at the prison, and Klenke texted occasionally outside of work and met up in-person a few times, according to the lawsuit. LANSING - A corrections officer at the Michigan Reformatory prison in Ionia has sued the warden, the head of executive affairs and one of her supervisors for sexual harassment and for mishandling her complaint.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |