Federal Investigator Is Accused of Sex Harassment
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The man in charge of investigating misconduct in science for the Federal Government has been accused of misconduct of another sort: sexually harassing an office manager by seeking sexual favors from her in return for good employee ratings. The office manager, a 27-year-old woman, has filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Service’s equal employment opportunity office against Dr. Clyde A. Watkins, 46, acting director of the Division of Research Investigation in the Federal Office of Research Integrity. She accuses him of pressing her for sexual favors for a year, and at one time promising to give her a top employee rating if she would perform oral sex on him twice. When she refused, she contends, he began to write angry notes and to visit her apartment, demanding sex. She also said he had threatened to block a promotion and to have her reassigned to a job in which he would have been her direct supervisor. The office manager acknowledged having sex with Dr. Watkins three times over a year, in the first instance by consent, and the two succeeding times under pressure from Dr. Watkins. In a confidential response to investigators with the equal employment office about the woman’s complaint, Dr. Watkins admitted the conduct but said he had been joking in each instance. He said in a telephone interview that he had been advised by his lawyer not to discuss the case. “The allegations against me are just that,” he said. “They are under investigation, and I am confident that the investigation will completely vindicate me.” More : query.nytimes.com |