Two prosecutors in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office will receive $700,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing their supervisor of subjecting them to regular harassment and fostering an abusive, sexually charged workplace.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the settlement Tuesday. Details on how the money would be divided among Deputy Dist. Attys. Beth Silverman and Tannaz Mokayef and their lawyers were not released. The payout will be drawn from the district attorney’s budget, according to county records.
In a civil lawsuit filed in 2015, Silverman and Mokayef, both members of the district attorney’s elite major crimes division, accused their former supervisor, Gary Hearnsberger, of grabbing their buttocks, declaring his fondness for sexually pleasuring women, and making disparaging remarks about women, crime victims and a transgender attorney.
The pair said they were penalized for rebuffing Hearnsberger’s advances. They alleged that other female prosecutors received high-profile cases for tolerating the harassment, engaging in sexual banter with Hearnsberger or providing sexual favors.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.