San Mateo County has reached an $8 million settlement with a former sheriff’s deputy and SWAT team member who filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit in 2022, alleging she was sexually assaulted by a former SWAT team leader and discriminated against by the department for years.
Carryn Barker’s attorneys Zak Franklin and Julianna Zalinski said in a statement Friday that the settlement came before the lawsuit’s September trial date, when a judge was to decide whether Franklin could depose San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus about her role in the alleged harassment.
Barker’s lawyers said that during almost two years of litigation, documents and depositions of 21 current and former employees of the Sheriff’s Office revealed that Barker — who they said is a UC Berkeley graduate, Medal of Honor recipient and only the second woman to qualify for the county’s SWAT team — was subjected to sexual harassment by her SWAT team supervisor, Andre Moniot.
Barker alleged the harassment and discrimination began shortly after Barker joined the SWAT team in 2018 and included Moniot making frequent vulgar comments about Barker’s body, telling Barker and others that he wanted to have sex with her, instructing Barker to wear revealing clothing during team workouts, touching Barker inappropriately, requiring Barker to ride alone with him to and from SWAT functions, and eventually assaulting Barker at a SWAT team gathering in October 2021.
Barker’s attorneys said the Sheriff’s Office employees testified they reported Moniot’s sexual harassment of Barker to multiple high-ranking officers in the department, but they did nothing to investigate the allegations or protect Barker until after she filed the lawsuit.
The attorneys also said testimony revealed as of early 2021 — several months before Moniot allegedly sexually assaulted Barker — at least five high-ranking officers were aware Moniot was sexually harassing Barker but failed to intervene.
They said Moniot testified he wouldn’t have sexually assaulted Barker if anyone in a leadership position told him Barker and others reported his sexual harassment of her.
Barker’s lawyers said the department didn’t investigate the allegations until a retiring high-level officer notified the internal affairs department in August 2022.
Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said the department “is aware of the settlement relating to incidents that occurred years ago under the previous sheriff.”
“Sheriff Corpus is committed to improving the culture of the sheriff’s office by prioritizing accountability and implementing higher standards — setting the tone that misconduct will not be tolerated under her watch,” Spiker said. “Because this is a lawsuit involving a personnel matter, we are unable to comment any further.”
Barker took a leave of absence from the SWAT team in September 2022 to avoid having to attend the same SWAT team function where Moniot allegedly assaulted her the previous year and where Moniot was expected to be in attendance that year.
Barker resigned from the SWAT team in November 2022 after the county still failed to do anything to protect Barker from Moniot, according to Barker’s attorneys. That was the same month she filed her lawsuit.
Barker’s attorneys said when the lawsuit became public, members of the SWAT team threatened to resign if Moniot wasn’t immediately put on a leave of absence. They also said other women allegedly victimized by men at the Sheriff’s Office also contacted Barker and her attorneys to share their own experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination.
Clearly there is serious problem in the Sheriff’s Office that is not being addressed.
The $8 million payout is the record amount for any county sexual harrassment case in California. These are funds the we as taxpayers untilmately pay for through our funding of county government. The story does not provide any specific information about what the Sheriff has done to correct the problem. There are four officers, Andre Moniot, Donnie Burnett, Jacob Trickett, and Jeffrey Carr who were cited in the suit for sexual harrassment. What if any accountability has occurred with them. Is the
Sheriff’s Office safe place for women to work? What does this also say for how women might encounter male deputies during law enforcement encounters?
Sheriff Corpus is committed to improving the culture of the sheriff’s office by prioritizing accountability and implementing higher standards — setting the tone that misconduct will not be tolerated under her watch,”
Is this an SNL skit? Who approved this quote? The Chief “Doctor” of Staff?
Sheriff Corpus has implemented the highest hiring standards in the history of the Sheriff’s Department. Gone are the days of hiring people who haven’t passed their physiological exam, who had numerous red flags in their background, had criminal
investigation that precluded them from being hired from other local agencies….
Yet she hired a captain from Daly City full of red flags and her chief of staff who has zero law enforcement experience… and promoted a captain who is known as computer bill…
The statement by Michelle G would be incorrect according to recent Sheriff’s Office assessment by a Law Enforcement Consultant hired by the Sheriff.
Has anyone done a background investigation of Victor Aenlle who was hired and worked as a reserve under the previous administrations? Did Victor Aenlle have “red flags” when he was hired under the previous administration? Was there a background for his current full time role. The Sheriff and her friends need to be honest and transparent.
Why would the Sheriff petition the court so she would not have to testify in the Barker case. Something here is wrong. Both Bolanos and especially Corpus should be ashamed of how they treated Deputy Barker. The people of San Mateo deserve better. Deputy Barker certainly did. This is disgusting and the Sheriff has proven, once again, she is not a Sheriff you can trust.
Please explain “computer bill” to me. I might like to speak with him.
“Sheriff” Corpus is a joke. No one wants to work for her. Understandable the County would pay $8 Million rather than allow Corpus to testify under oath. Arrogant, vindictive and clueless; what a leader.