HOUSTON – The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County faces a sexual harassment lawsuit from a female employee.
Angela Gonzales filed the suit against METRO on Nov. 20 in the Harris County 80th District Court, alleging that former supervisor Henry Todd DeBato sexually harassed her.
Employed as an instructor for the public transportation agency, Gonzales explains that the ordeal began sometime in 2014 when she gave DeBato her cell phone number.
What started out as friendly, harmless conversations allegedly transitioned to instances in which the plaintiff asserts was DeBato’s plant to groom her “for his own sinister, sexual purposes.”
Court filings state that DeBato “ordered (Ms. Gonzales) to pretend to have a relationship with him” that “would be just talk.” According to Gonzales, DeBato told and asked her inappropriate things, as well as “made up all sorts of excuses” to get her to come inside his private office.
Describing DeBato “as possessive, short-tempered, and vindictive,” the original petition alludes to times when he threatened the complainant.
“Ms. Gonzales’s efforts to reject Supervisor DeBato, change the subject from sexual advances, or comply minimally for the sake of saving her job and/or not angering him failed,” the suit says.
DeBato, who is not a party in the litigation, purportedly retaliated against Gonzales by complaining about her work, berating her in front of employees, rating her unfairly on her annual performance review, and even accusing her of dating other people.
The suit further states that DeBato resigned after Gonzales reported him to management, but the plaintiff continued to experience mistreatment from the defendant.
She accuses METRO of promoting “a company culture wherein other male trainers/instructors have sexually harassed female employees.”
Consequently, Gonzales seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Katrina Patrick of Houston is representing the complainant.
Harris County 80th District Court Case No. 2018-83554