Harford County sheriff sued over alleged retaliation after sexual harassment report

A former Harford County sheriff's deputy is suing Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, alleging she faced retaliation after reporting sexual misconduct by another deputy.

The lawsuit, filed last week by former Deputy First Class Paige Yedinak, outlines several allegations about her time working as a corrections and K9 deputy with the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

According to the documents, Yedinak began working for the sheriff's office in 2021. She alleges the problems began in July of 2025, when another deputy allegedly began asking her for sexually explicit photos and threatening to expose her consensual relationship with another employee if she refused.

Yedinak said she reported the incident to her supervisor in October 2025. Days later, she was allegedly reprimanded for "training too often" and told she could no longer use overtime to train her K9.

Yedinak said things escalated in February, the same day the sexual harassment report was submitted to internal affairs, when she was, "demoted, transferred from her shift, and had her K9 taken away."

The lawsuit alleges these actions were taken in retaliation of the sexual harassment claims.

Sheriff Gahler denies the allegations. In a statement to WJZ, his office said it "conducted multiple investigations and remain confident in our position."

The statement also said an associated case had already been dismissed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"It is important to remind the public that allegations are not statements of fact, and there is considerably more to this matter than what is contained in the documents filed in federal court," the statement said.

Gahler said he looks forward to being able to fully address the complaint and its allegations once the litigation is complete.

Yedinak alleges she suffered lost wages and emotional distress. She is seeking $75,000 in damages, in addition to punitive damages.

The Sheriff's Office confirmed to WJZ that Yedinak is no longer employed by the agency, saying she was let go for reasons not directly related to the allegations in the lawsuit.

Yedinak's attorney declined to comment.