Legislator Found
Guilty For
Sexual
Harassment
The Tribunal de
Trabajo (Labour
Court) on
Wednesday found
legislator for
the Partido
Liberación
Nacional (PLN),
Federico Tinoco,
guilty of sexual
harassment of a
female
assistant, who
filed charges
against the
legislators more
than three years
ago.
In 2006, a
legislative
commission made
up of three
non-legislators
found that there
wasn't
compelling proof
of any
wrongdoing on
the part of the
legislator.
The woman, at
the time, said
she just wanted
to put the whole
thing behind
her, but when
she saw the
legislator on
television
playing the
victim, saying
the woman had
misinterpreted
him and mistook
his aggressive
style for
harassment, she
decided to take
the case to the
next step,
filing charges
against the
legislator.
The woman,
married and a
mother, on
national
television, her
identity
shielded from
the cameras,
told of how the
legislator hired
to go work for
him at the
beginning of his
term on May 1,
2006, and that
he would
frequently find
ways to be alone
with her after
the end of the
work day.
She said she
kept quiet after
the first
incident when
she felt
uncomfortable
around Tinoco
and had related
the story to her
husband, telling
him everything
that was
happening at
work.
"I thought I
could manage the
situation, and
always kept my
husband informed
of what was
happening", said
the woman.
With sobs in her
voice, the woman
said that when
the legislator
began to touch
her offensivly,
asking for
massages, that
became
uncomfortable.
"When he tried
to kiss me, I
would move away.
That is when I
thought this
could explode at
any moment",
said the woman.
In the on air
interview, the
woman told
Teletica's
reporter,
Natalia Romero,
of how she went
public after she
was fired. She
wanted her story
to be known
because there
other women who
have been or are
being harassed
by the
legislator.
However, it
wasn't until
Tinoco went
public that she
decided to file
formal charges.
The Tribunal
Superior de
Trabajo de San
José on April
19, 2010,
sentenced Tinoco
to pay the woman
˘10 million
colones for
moral damages
and costs in the
process. |
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