Friday, October 11, 2019

D.A.-Elect Might Have EEOC Problem

Incoming Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens might have his own share of #metoo problems.  The Appeal, a website dedicated to criminal justice issues, reported an EEOC complaint was filed against Mr. Owens:



This WAS Victor's theme music but maybe.......

Multiple women who have worked with Jody Owens, who is running unopposed for district attorney in Hinds County, Mississippi, say he sexually harassed them while he led the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Jackson office. Their allegations include claims that Owens, who was the office’s managing attorney until June, commented on some women’s appearances, discussed their dating lives, made unwanted advances, or touched them inappropriately.

One woman, who worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as recently as the spring, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the summer. The Appeal has obtained a copy of the complaint, which details both specific interactions she allegedly had with Owens and a culture in the office in which, she said, his behavior was allowed to continue unchecked. 

Asked about these allegations, Owens wrote in an email, “I have never condoned nor participated in any unwanted behavior or touching of any kind with an employee.”....

 In total, The Appeal spoke with 17 people who worked in the office or considered working in the office since Owens became managing attorney in 2011. Most would only speak anonymously, citing concerns about their professional reputations.

Some praised Owens as a strong leader and caring supervisor. “He was overall a good boss, a good mentor,” said Alesha Judkins, who worked in the office for almost eight years. “It was a crucial part of my career that I’m forever grateful for.”  Rest of article.  But the majority of those interviewed described a toxic work environment under Owens’s leadership.

Will the EEOC complaint become public? Will the alleged victim be able to sue Mr. Owens after 180 days? Stay tuned. 

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

The women MUST be believed. #MeToo

#MeToo said...

The complaint alleges, according to The Appeal, "that by the time the woman started at the SPLC’s Jackson office in late 2018, the organization 'had long been on notice of complaints that Mr. Owens was a sexual predator who targeted subordinate female employees.'”

Anonymous said...

Owens needs to withdraw from the election. This is damning.

#MeToo said...

Roughly eight months into her employment, during a discussion of her work performance, she said Owens told her: “You’re hell on wheels.”

“Oh Jesus, Jody, what does that mean?” she responded, according to notes she took at the time and referred to during her phone interview with The Appeal.

“You’re a dynamo,” he said, according to her notes. “You’re a white, attractive, liberal woman. You have a shape that is attractive to people of all races. People talk about what white men and black men like. You have a shape that everyone likes.”

#MeToo said...

“While at dinner, Mr. Owens reached under the table and touched [the woman]’s thigh and calf,” the complaint says. “[The woman] recoiled, but he persisted; Mr. Owens continued to touch her leg under the table throughout the meal despite her attempts to shift away.

After the meal, Owens allegedly approached the woman, grabbed her upper arms, and commented on her muscles, saying she must work out. When Owens left the restaurant, he immediately called the woman’s cellphone under the guise of discussing work, she said, but asked about her dating life. Owens advised her to be careful on dating apps. “This is a small town,” he said, according to the complaint.

That conversation was the first of many Mr. Owens would have [with the woman], in which he sought to control and limit her interactions with other men in Jackson,” the complaint says.

On another occasion, the complaint states, he told her she has “a body that Mississippi men appreciate,” and that she was “not white girl skinny, but not fat.”

Anonymous said...

BOMBSHELL. BOOM!

Anonymous said...

Smells like ass in here!

Anonymous said...

Well, Owens' opponents pointed out that he had zero experience as a prosecutor, nor had he ever really been IN a courtroom. I guess the jokes on them, because he'll have that sex crime docket locked down!

Anonymous said...

Wiill George soros seek a refund-

Anonymous said...

Womp womp

Anonymous said...

He should run for Sheriff of Rock Ridge. "Hey, where da white women at?!?!?"

Anonymous said...

sexually harassing a bunch of yankee liberal white women? Not very smart Jody! You are about to get #metooed lol

Anonymous said...

Exactly what can be expected from a George Soros-funded, social justice puppet

Anonymous said...

Crickets at the JFP while Donner figures out how to smear the women leveling the charges against Owens.

Anonymous said...

Good job Hinds county voters on another magnificent candidate y’all have/will elect.. One day you will learn you get the government you ask for. Don’t complain when they suck at life...

Anonymous said...

Just look at how many times in the past two years they have advertised for a paralegal

Anonymous said...

Done got to where you can't even tell a female coworker she lookin' hot. Hell, 20 years ago, that was the way you got a date. And they usually appreciate it. And if they didn't, they didn't cause no trouble with it. And you move on along, no problem. Now here come the govement and have to protect everybody from each other. I call bull shit.

Anonymous said...

WTF did everyone expect from a DA that ran a campaign out of his nightclub? SPLC isALL about sexual harassment. Morris Dees...we don’t know him.

Don’t worry Jacktown decarceration will commence shortly.

Anonymous said...

Morris Dees and most of the staff at SPLC were shake down artists with fealty ONLY to money. They are perhaps the most venal collection of people on planet Earth. Anyone connected with SPLC must be viewed with a great degree of skepticism and should never be put in a position of responsibility.

Anonymous said...

these allegations are weak. boo hoo someone said i’m attractive.

Anonymous said...

Apparently, being a sexual harasser is a job requirement for all males at SPLC. Been hearing about how bad it is for 30 years.

Anonymous said...

1. Southern Poverty Law Center
2. Never tried a criminal case
3. Serial "johnson" problems

What could possibly go wrong?

Anonymous said...

"...zero experience as a prosecutor, nor had he ever really been IN a courtroom".

Sounds like he should have run for State Attorney General.

Anonymous said...

So let me see if I understand the situation. Once this fellow gets in office and the sexual harassment allegations start to fly the tax payers of Hinds County will be on the hook for the settlement funds or, at minimum, the legal fees to pay for his defense.


Do I have this right?

Anonymous said...

12:49, aren’t all the DAs technically state employees? I think they are paid by the state. Not every county even has a DA.

So get your wallets out Madison. :)

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting the EEOC complaint was filed after he left SPLC. I may not agree with Owens on some policy issues but this seems like a reach.

Kingfish said...

I removed all Trump references in comments. Take your Trump fetishes somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

If these women think they will soar by twisting words snd scenarios against Owens, shame on them. They fail to understand the law on sexual assault and the depravity of their own conduct, Clearly an attack to tarnish his reputation.

Anonymous said...

‘dynamo’. nice.

Anonymous said...

They fail to understand the law on sexual assault and the depravity of their own conduct.

You're right. The woman at the dinner should have allowed Owens to run his hand from her thigh up under her panties. She was depraved for not allowing him to go further.

Anonymous said...

JFP article recently written by Seyma Bayram did not mention any of this!?!?

Anonymous said...

"Owens needs to withdraw from the election. This is damning. October 11, 2019 at 2:57 PM"

This behavior is not 'damning', it's cultural. It will get folks a lot of votes much more cheaply than commercial advertising.

Anonymous said...

SPLC-Do as I say, not as I do.



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