Lawsuit against Collin County DA’s office reaches settlement

MCKINNEY, Texas — Collin County Commissioners unanimously agreed Monday to settle an amended lawsuit against the Collin County District Attorney’s Office via 3 present and 3 former workers of that office. 

The go well with accused District Attorney Greg Willis and First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye of sexually harassing a couple of ladies who paintings or have labored within the district legal professional’s office, and of retaliating against them once they refused to agree to their sexual advances. 

In a commentary launched via Collin County Judge Chris Hill, he additionally claims the lawsuit falsely claimed participants of the Commissioners Court have been conscious about the misconduct within the office and refused to do so. 

The commentary is going onto say the Commissioners Court engaged an unbiased criminal company to research the allegations right away upon finding out of them. That investigator talked with greater than 30 present and previous workers on the DA’s office, who they are saying found out a large number of inconsistencies, inaccuracies and false statements within the allegations. Multiple workers additionally reportedly at once disputed lots of the lawsuit’s allegations. 

“As the female leadership in the Collin County District Attorney’s Office, we would like to issue this statement in support of District Attorney Greg Willis and First Assistant Bill Wirskye,” stated 11 present feminine leader prosecutors within the Collin County DA’s Office. “They have cultivated an environment that empowers women and supports working mothers. We are proud to continue to seek justice alongside their leadership.”

The Commissioners Court stated within the commentary they in the long run concluded the allegations have been unfounded and refused to settle claims of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment, in conjunction with allegations against courtroom participants. 

“In spite of the Court’s objections, the county’s insurance company was concerned about the potential costs of litigation and any potential judgment, and the insurer offered the six plaintiffs $1.75 million to settle the lawsuit,” the commentary reads. “The six plaintiffs amended their lawsuit, retracting the allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, retracting all allegations against the Court members, and retracting the allegations against the District Attorney and the First Assistant District Attorney.”

The plaintiffs alleged in an amended submitting that they suffered retaliation and therefore approved the settlement be offering. 

Afterward, the 3 final workers resigned from their employment with the county, the commentary added, as a situation of the settlement settlement. 

“The Commissioners and I take allegations such as these very seriously, and they deserve nothing less than a full, thorough, and impartial investigation,” Hill stated in a commentary. “The Commissioners Court responded with appropriate care and vigilance, and I am now convinced that these allegations were without merit. I am thankful for the leadership and the service of Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis and First Assistant Bill Wirskye.”

Originally the go well with alleged that “District Attorney Greg Willis treats female employees as objects that, without their consent, must gratify his sexual impulses and personal vanity, while First Assistant Bill Wirskye runs the office as a crass, misogynistic fraternity complete with systemic hazing of the County’s attorneys, investigators and staff.” 

The go well with additionally alleged the Collin County Commissioners Court, together with Hill, has identified of the misconduct for years and has most effective enabled it via no longer taking remedial motion or carrying out any investigation. 

“Only in recent weeks has the Commissioners Court initiated a review of these charges, but on information and belief, it did so solely for the self-interested purpose of evaluating Collin County’s legal liabilities arising from the Commissioners Court’s acquiescence to the abuses that Mr. Willis and Mr. Wirskye have committed on the Plaintiffs in this case and to other employees in the District Attorney’s Office,” the go well with said.

One of the complainants, leader investigator on the time, Kim Pickrell, alleged within the lawsuit that Willis made undesirable sexual advances towards her, in conjunction with regimen and unwelcome efforts at flirting together with her.

“On one specific occasion, [Willis] ‘needed help’ on an electronic document located on his computer and invited [Pickrell] over to his computer area,” the go well with learn. “Once she was in place, he began to stroke her hand with his hand. Quite frequently, he would give her full frontal body hugs while pressing her breasts into his chest, rubbing her lower back with his hands and moaning.”

The go well with alleged that Willis’ habits against Pickrell changed into extra threatening as soon as he discovered she used to be no longer receptive towards his sexual advances or makes an attempt at flirting, and that he at that time started berating and belittling her regularly. 

“Defendant Willis would make Chief Pickrell do ‘role play’ scenarios where he would pretend to be her and he would require her to play the DA,” the go well with stated. “Whereas role play can be a useful management exercise, he used it as a means to groom, flirt, make sexual advances and assert control.”