Crime & Justice

‘Crass, Misogynistic Fraternity’: Harassment Suit Against DA Settled

‘FIERCE RAGE’

District Attorney Greg Willis had been accused of inappropriately touching female employees.

The Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, United States.
Larry D. Moore/Wikimedia Commons

A lawsuit accusing a Texas county district attorney of sexual harassment and others of covering up misconduct has been settled, according to a court document filed Thursday. The federal suit, filed in October, alleged that Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis repeatedly touched female staffers inappropriately and that he made a series of improper comments and propositions. The case also accused First Assistant District Bill Wirskye of running the DA’s office as a “crass, misogynistic fraternity” and claimed several other county officials had been complicit in covering up serial misconduct. Willis has repeatedly denied the allegations made in the lawsuit, which alleged that he treated female workers as “objects that, without their consent, must gratify his sexual impulses and personal vanity,” adding that he would retaliate with “fierce rage” against those who resisted his advances. A settlement in principle was reached late last month, according to Thursday’s filing, though details of the agreement have not yet been made available.

Read it at Dallas Morning News