VENTURA : Suit Charges Sexual Harassment, Bias

A former Ventura County probation officer filed a lawsuit Friday accusing another officer of sexually harassing her for seven years and her supervisor of sexual discrimination for denying her a promotion after she complained.

Ann Marie Nelson filed the suit in County Superior Court, alleging she was sexually harassed between 1981 and 1988 by Larry Dobbs, now a supervisor in the adult investigation unit of the county Corrections Services Agency.

The suit also alleges that Frank Woodson, now deputy director of the county Corrections Services Agency, conspired with Dobbs to deny Nelson a transfer to a new unit after her complaints. The suit further alleges that Woodson investigated charges of sexual discrimination in Dobbs’ unit in May, 1987, but found that Dobbs had done nothing improper.

According to Corrections Services spokesman Cal Remington, Dobbs denied the harassment allegations, calling them frivolous. Woodson could not be reached for comment.

Remington said that Woodson’s 1987 investigation of Nelson’s complaints found that Dobbs had done nothing wrong.

Nelson quit in 1988, but reapplied for the $24,000-to-$35,000-a-year job in 1990, only to be told that she “didn’t interview well,” the suit says. It says an unqualified man was hired instead.

Remington said he does not know who was hired instead of Nelson, but that “essentially a decision was made based on that interview that other candidates were more appropriate for the position.”