Former Belleville police secretary files sexual harassment suit against captain, chief
A former secretary for a Belleville Police Department captain has filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was sexually harassed and that leaders knew of the alleged misconduct and failed to correct it.
The lawsuit filed by Justine Eisemann names John Moody, Belleville Police Chief Bill Clay and the city of Belleville as defendants.
Moody, Clay, Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert and City Attorney Garrett Hoerner could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Eisemann could not be reached for comment but her attorney, MaryAnne Quill of St. Louis, said Eisemann endured a “hostile” workplace and “nothing was done” about it.
“That’s why my client couldn’t work there,” Quill said on Thursday.
Moody’s status with the police department was not available Thursday but the lawsuit says he is a former captain. He once served as a captain over the operations division, which included the investigations group, the patrol group and the special operations group, according to a previous listing on the city’s website. The city’s payroll for the 2019-20 fiscal year that ends April 30 lists his salary as $102,666.
“Defendant Moody subjected Plaintiff to vulgar, humiliating, severe and pervasive harassment based upon her gender throughout her employment. His actions created a hostile working environment for Plaintiff,” the lawsuit states.
“As a result of the intolerable hostile work environment,” Eisemann was unable to return to her job after taking time off from her position, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendant Moody sexually harassed Plaintiff and violated the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) by engaging in continuous unwanted, unwelcome sexual jokes, comments, and advances toward Plaintiff …,” according to the lawsuit.
The 24-page lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis.
The city’s website previously has stated Moody joined the department in 1998. He had served as a patrol officer, gang unit officer and detective. He was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant and then captain. He began overseeing investigations by 2009.
Before joining the police department, Moody was a supervisor at the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center in East St. Louis.
Eisemann worked as a secretary for the police department from July 2015 to September 2018. The city’s payroll for the 2018-19 fiscal year listed her salary as $35,944.
Lawsuit allegations
Here are three of the allegations Eisemann makes against Moody in the lawsuit:
▪ Moody asked her in February 2018 to feel a detective’s face “to see if she thought his shaved face was sexy,” according to the suit. Eisemann said no and walked away as she “felt humiliated,” according to the suit.
▪ Each year, employees were required to sign a form indicating whether they had experienced sexual harassment and the form indicated that there were additional materials describing “appropriate” and “inappropriate” conduct. Eisemann alleges she did not receive the additional material and that Moody demanded that Eisemann sign the form in front of him.
Eisemann’s lawsuit states that Moody would only provide the extra materials after she signed the form. Eisemann still refused to sign it.
Moody gave her a deadline of July 23, 2018, to sign the form and told her he would not write a good review for her unless she signed the form, the suit states. She never signed the form, according to the suit. Eisemann alleges Moody told her, “A certain amount of fear is good for people to have.”
▪ Moody would often call Eisemann into his office only to make “sexual jokes” or discuss the physical appearance of other women, according to the suit.
The lawsuit lists three counts:
▪ Count 1 alleges Eisemann was denied equal protection of the law in violation of her rights under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by all of the defendants.
▪ Count 2 alleges Eisemann was a victim of sex descrimination and retaliation by the city of Belleville in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
▪ Count 3 alleges Eisemann was a victim of sex descrimination and retaliation by all of the defendants in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
At least five other police department officers and employees are cited in the lawsuit but they are not named as defendants.
Eisemann sought help with other employees and then filed a complaint with the city’s human resource director on June 28, 2018.
The city placed Moody on administrative leave, according to the lawsuit, but Clay sent all employees an email on Aug. 7, 2018, stating that Moody would remain as commander of the investigations division.
At one point, Eisemann was offered a position to work in another location in the police department but she stated in the lawsuit that Moody would still have access to her new work site.
On Aug. 30, 2018, Clay sent Eisemann a letter stating the city had investigated her claims. The letter stated that her claims of discrimination, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment were “not sustained,” according to the suit. Also, the suit alleges that no action was taken against Moody.
In early October 2018, Eisemann received a letter in the mail sent by Clay dated Sept. 27, 2018, that stated she had voluntarily resigned from her job, according to the suit.
The lawsuit does not list an exact amount of money sought by Eisemann but her requests include lost wages and benefits, reinstatement, front wages, emotional distress damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees and costs.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 5:27 PM.
