2 Women Accuse San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia Of Sexual Harassment
SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA) — Two women have accused San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia of sexual harassment and say they plan to sue him and the city.
Plaintiffs Mirna Cisneros and Karen Cervantes say they used to work as assistants with the city of San Bernardino, but quit their jobs because Valdivia made them so miserable.
The two women say Valdivia repeatedly harassed them with sexually-charged remarks, off-color jokes and threatened to fire them, and have improper text messages and photos he sent to them.
"Employment became what I called the misery program," Cervantes said. "He told me the situation was my fault, and that if I wanted things to change and to have a good relationship with him, I would have to spend time with him after work hours."
They said they plan to sue both Valdivia and the city of San Bernardino.
"I never wanted it to get to this point, but I have no choice after the city failed to protect me," Cisneros said.
Both plaintiffs say they repeatedly complained to the mayor's chief of staff but nothing was ever done to resolve the situation.
The city of San Bernardino says they have launched an investigation.
Valdivia calls the allegations false and politically driven.
