Suit: DuPage deputy says she was sexually harassed at work, faced retaliation
A DuPage County sheriff’s deputy is suing the sheriff, two former deputies and the county, saying she was sexually harassed at work and faced retaliation when she complained.
Yitzel Mansour filed the suit on Monday against Sheriff James Mendrick, retired Sgt. Curtis Bryant, retired Lt. David Tousignant, and DuPage County.
The suit alleges they violated the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois Whistleblowers Act.
Mendrick, Bryant and Tousignant could not be reached for comment early Friday afternoon.
Mansour was hired in September 2018 and has worked in the patrol division since July 2020.
Bryant and Tousignant were her supervisors, the suit says.
Beginning in 2022, Tousignant and Bryant each made unwelcome sexual advances toward Mansour and subjected her to degrading and derogatory comments, according to the suit.
It also alleges Tousignant committed sexual assault and sexual battery against her.
The suit says Tousignant would ask her to go out to lunch, and she was afraid to say “no.” The lunches would last two to four hours, according to the suit.
He also ordered her to attend testing at the county’s gun range. They were the only people there, and he stood behind her and adjusted her stance. Then, when she was cleaning her gun at a table, he grabbed her face and tried to kiss her, according to the lawsuit. She turned away.
He falsely said she had failed the gun test, according to the lawsuit.
According to the suit, Bryant would make comments about her body and her clothing, ask for photos of her, and ask her to go to dinner.
The suit says Mansour was disciplined by the sheriff’s office after she talked to another officer about the situation and was denied a promotion to the community resource unit because of it.
When she filed a harassment complaint with the sheriff and county officials, they deemed it unfounded, the suit says.
The suit says there is an “old boys club” atmosphere at the sheriff’s department and a stifling “code of silence.”
She filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. The lawsuit says the agency dismissed her complaint but does not say why.
Mansour is seeking to have her discipline vacated, to receive unspecified lost pay and pension benefits, and a promotion to the community resource unit.
The suit was filed in DuPage County Circuit Court. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19.