The Sexist

Another Sexual Harassment Suit for Head of D.C. Photo Lab

Posted by Amanda Hess on Sep. 29, 2008, at 11:55 am

Examiner Staff Writer Scott McCabe has this report on the head of D.C. police photography lab, William “Bill” Gresham, who is being sued for sexual harassment on the job for the second time. In 2001, the city settled a lawsuit involving Gresham and an employee, Tina Hall-Johnson, for an undisclosed amount. The new lawsuit, filed by 50-year-old Mary Gilkey, was filed in federal court last week.

Details alleged in the suit, via Examiner:

In 1998, Gilkey told investigators in the Hall-Johnson probe that while working in the dark room, Gilkey turned around and saw Gresham holding his penis and smiling. Gilkey ran out of the room and reported it to Gresham’s supervisor.

Over the years, Gilkey said, Gresham offered her thousands of dollars to perform sex acts, commented about her breasts, introduced something called a “peter meter,” brushed up against her in the dark room with an erection, grabbed her breasts and showed her pornography.

In March 2006, Gresham struck Gilkey on the top of her head with a telephone receiver so hard that she bled, the suit alleges.

In 2003, Gresham was awarded with a Metropolitan Police Department lifetime achievement service award. In the program [PDF], Gresham was described as “a consummate photography professional” in “all respects.”