A judge found Montclair Councilman Ben Lopez civilly liable for sexual harassment this week for subjecting two current male city employees to repeated unwanted sexual advances, according to court documents and interviews. <\/p>\n
But despite repeated calls from city leaders and residents for his resignation, Lopez has given no indication he plans to step down. His decision to remain on the City Council has already saddled the Pomona Valley community with hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance costs, city officials say, and compounded the toll on the two employees \u2014 both of whom still work at City Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like we are back in square one,\u201d said one plaintiff, Edmund Garcia. \u201cI still constantly feel like I have to watch my back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lopez has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and continued to do so even after the ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have maintained my innocence. I don\u2019t think the city should have been dragged into this proceeding at all,\u201d he said during a council meeting Monday. Lopez did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Times this week. <\/p>\n
Only Montclair voters have the power to strip Lopez of his position, according to Brian Hannemann, an attorney who represented Garcia and his co-plaintiff, Mikey Fuentes. Because the case was tried in civil court, Lopez does not meet the legal threshold to be automatically removed from the council \u2014 which would require him to be convicted of a criminal felony. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn any other workplace, a supervisor found liable for this conduct would be fired immediately,\u201d Hannemann said. \u201cBut because he\u2019s an elected official, the victims still have to see him wield power. That\u2019s the injustice here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the decision released Monday, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Kory Mathewson concluded that Lopez violated California\u2019s Fair Employment and Housing Act by repeatedly subjecting Garcia and Fuentes to unwanted sexual advances, including anonymously sending explicit photographs and messages on dating apps.<\/p>\n
The court found Lopez liable not only for sexual harassment but also for fraud, oppression and malice, a high legal standard that allowed for punitive damages. Each plaintiff was awarded $488,000, with Lopez also ordered to reimburse the city of Montclair for its settlement costs and legal fees.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit has already cost Montclair taxpayers more than $950,000, according to City Manager Edward Starr, who said Lopez\u2019s refusal to resign has exposed the city to continued liability, potentially to the tune of $500,000 in additional annual insurance costs. Those combined costs would represent 3.7% of Montclair\u2019s entire general fund budget<\/a> of $39.5 million for the current fiscal year. <\/p>\n \u201cThat is money that should have gone to our parks, our police, our roads, but was wasted on the actions of one man,\u201d said resident Alice Garcia, Edmund\u2019s mother, at a council meeting Monday. \u201cMr. Lopez, you have cost this city our reputation. You have cost the taxpayers over half a million dollars, and you have cost my family our peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n According to court findings, Lopez used fake names like \u201cLooking2Suck,\u201d and \u201cDown2Play\u201d on dating apps and sought out Garcia, an IT supervisor with the city, even though he was a direct subordinate.<\/p>\n In messages, he obscured his face, sent graphic sexual images and repeatedly invited Garcia to engage in anonymous sex, which he refused.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we could do that totally anonymously between us. Know a way we could? Where we didn\u2019t have to see each other\u2019s face at all the first time? Leave the mystique and get the deed done type thing,\u201d Lopez wrote in messages detailed in court records.<\/p>\n But in later messages, Lopez allegedly sent a photograph of his face. Garcia told The Times he felt disturbed and feared the communications could be used to manipulate or blackmail him.<\/p>\n Lopez has maintained he was hacked or impersonated online, a defense Mathewson rejected given the evidence, including financial records tied to the accounts involved.<\/p>\n Fuentes, the city\u2019s director of economic development and housing, testified that Lopez subjected him to unwanted comments about his appearance, sexuality and personal life, culminating in a two-hour lunch meeting that Fuentes believed was work-related, but instead devolved into probing questions about his sexuality.<\/p>\n Both men reported Lopez to city leadership in 2021. A third-party investigator retained by the city later substantiated their allegations and found Lopez not credible, according to the court\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n