County Settles Sexual Harassment Suit against Santa Barbara Deputy

News briefs from California’s Central Coast The Associated Press Wednesday, January 22, 2003 SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — The county agreed to pay two Sheriff’s Department secretaries $325,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against a deputy. Angela Sanders and Julie Glass alleged in the June 2002 Superior Court suit that Deputy Clayton Turner sexually assaulted, battered and harassed them while on duty in the Lompoc substation and that the department retaliated against them after they filed the complaint. Turner could not be reached for comment. Sheriff Jim Anderson and Chief Assistant County Counsel Steve Underwood said Tuesday’s settlement is not an admission of guilt, but rather a business decision. It would cost significantly less to settle than to go to trial, they said. “There is no question his behavior was inappropriate,” Anderson said. Turner was disciplined, but the sheriff said he couldn’t disclose any details about confidential personnel matters. Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/01/22/state1045EST0043.DTL