It almost sounds like a movie plot line; Keisha Johnson worked for the Philadelphia Police Internal Affairs Bureau as an aide to Staff Inspector Jerrold Bates. Unlike her counterparts in other departments, she had a good work schedule, only daytime hours and had weekends off. Afraid to lose her position, cowed by the boy’s club mentality of the organization, and intimidated by Bates’ position of power, Johnson felt she had to succumb to his demands for sexual favors in order to keep her job.

While the details of her complaint are being kept confidential, Johnson spoke with the Daily News about the harassment she suffered and revealed the following details:

At first she said no. Bates fondled her breasts, and when she told him that she felt uncomfortable, he looked at her as if thinking: “What are you going to do about it?” He told her that he thought about her when he masturbated and would brush up against her in a suggestive manner. He later told her that she was replaceable and that there were other women lined up to take her job if she didn’t like it. Eventually Johnson gave in.

For years Johnson was made to comply with Bates’ sexual demands. The attention only abated when she became pregnant with her boyfriend’s child. When her daughter was born prematurely, she was even more in need of her steady job. Unfortunately, her relationship with the father of her child did not survive the pressures of her work environment. And the harassment was taking a physical and emotional toll on her as well.

To make matters worse for Johnson, when she reported two female co-workers for making racial slurs against her, she was transferred to a district office. And when she was called a rat on the first day at her new office, she knew her career was over. Johnson quit her job and moved out of state in order to put the trauma behind her.

The Bates/Johnson relationship is precisely the type of discrimination that state and federal laws are designed to protect against. Sexual favors coerced by a supervisor, under the express threat of losing one’s job, constitute sexual harassment and are in clear violation of Title VII and state employment law. A sexual harassment lawyer in Orange County can give you more information on the applicable California state laws.

What is shocking is that Johnson never thought that she could report Bates. He was her supervisor and he worked in Internal Affairs, after all, so her dilemma was clear. Fortunately for her claim, and for other women in the department, she had told a co-worker about the harassment. It was only after this co-worker reported what Bates’ had done that Johnson stepped forward and filed a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency charged with enforcing Title VII.

Bates has been reassigned pending an internal investigation. But the investigation is being conducted by, of course, Internal Affairs. Johnson believes this investigation to be a farce and wonders how Bates’ subordinates will be able to conduct a fair investigation of their former superior regardless of his transfer.

Johnson’s complaints are very serious and if proven could spell out liability for the Philadelphia Police Department. Generally speaking, when a superior sexually harasses a subordinate employee, strict liability attaches to the employer. Bates could also independently be subject to criminal charges. A sexual harassment lawyer in Orange County can give you more information on the various types of sexual harassment and help you in assessing your own case.