LUFKIN – A female Jack-in-the-Box employee in Jasper claims she faced a hostile work environment when a sexually explicit video allegedly featuring her and an ex-lover was circulated among her co-workers.
Recent Lufkin federal court records show that Lanieka Spikes filed a lawsuit against her employer on July 9. The 10-page suit says another employee informed Spikes about the medium in question, stating the plaintiff was “unaware that a copy of the video still existed.”
Spikes and her then-boyfriend reportedly made the video in 2008.
“Shortly after the video had been made, Ms. Spikes regretted allowing herself to be filmed in the video,” the suit says.
The complainant expressed horror over how the other workers obtained the video and distributing it. She eventually learned that her superiors, including store manager Stevie Williams, also had copies.
“When confronted by Ms. Spikes, Mr. Williams refused to tell her where he had obtained the video,” the suit says. “Mr. Williams told her that they ‘were just having fun’, that he was a man, and that when he saw a nice body he was going to react.”
Court papers assert that Williams and the defendant’s assistant manager, Eric Hollingsworth, “engaged in a concerted effort to cover-up their misdeeds by attempting to intimidate and blame other employees.”
Consequently, Spikes seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Christine L. Stetsen, David E. Bernsen, and Tanner G.M. Franklin of the Bernsen Law Firm in Beaumont are representing the complainant.
Lufkin Division of the Eastern Division of Texas Case No. 9:18-CV-0122