Former Utah County commissioner, Greg Graves, has filed a defamation lawsuit against fellow commissioners, saying they told the public about the sexual harassment allegations he was facing.
According to the lawsuit, a female employee filed a complaint in 2017 that claimed Graves touched her inappropriately on the leg and talked about sex.
Graves said that this never happened. He said the woman made up the accusations to receive a financial settlement and that two of his colleagues spread the rumor because they wanted him removed from his position.
An investigator who was hired by the county to look into the accusations couldn’t find any evidence of sexual harassment. He did, however, conclude that Graves retaliated against the woman after she reported the alleged incident.
He wrote: Graves is “widely viewed as a workplace bully, dishonest, demeaning, intimidating, threatening, explosive, and someone with whom personal interaction is to be avoided as much as possible.”
Before the investigator’s results came in, the county released the accusations to the public, which made many people turn against Graves. Many wanted Graves to step down, but he waited until his term ended in January.
Graves said that the accusations against him were untrue and damaged his reputation. He said that he hasn’t been able to get a job and that his relationship with his wife has been negatively affected.
Graves claimed that the two other commissioners, Nathan Ivie and Bill Lee continued to portray him in a false light so that people would wrongly believe that he was guilty of sexual harassment.
Ivie posted a message on Facebook that said Graves should resign after using his power to “belittle, ridicule, intimidate, and bully his way around Utah County.”
Graves asks for financial damages to compensate for the damage to his reputation and for the accusations that made his pre-existing traumatic brain injury worse.
If you would like information about personal injury claims, visit Cohen & Cohen
