By FireRescue1 Staff
ATLANTA — A former Atlanta Fire Department recruit is suing over alleged sexual harassment and inappropriate touching by a fire instructor, WSB-TV reported.
In her lawsuit, Amber Ellison claims she suffered repeated sexual advances by William Jucks, a long-time instructor with the City of Atlanta, while she underwent fire training.
Ellison, one of five women in her class, alleges that Jucks made inappropriate comments toward her during class and on non-work-hours phone calls during which Jucks would ask Ellison what she was wearing.
Her attorney, James McCabe, told WSB-TV 2 that Ellison was trying to ignore the alleged harassment until graduation.
“She was gritting her teeth and trying to make it through,” he said. “She thought to herself, ‘If I can just get through this training process, it’ll be done and I’ll become a firefighter.”
However, the situation reached a tipping point while in class one day, when Ellison says Jucks put three fingers in his mouth, moaned while staring at her and – in front of the other recruits – said, “I wanna put icing all over you.”
Ellison’s lawsuit claims she initially sought help internally with Atlanta Fire and Rescue and later with the city’s human resources department. She was dismissed by both, the suit states.
“The human resources person told us she was just being emotional,” McCabe said.
Ellison was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder after her continued interactions with Jucks, and her doctor recommended she take a two-week leave of absence from work. She alleges she was blocked by the city’s HR department from taking time off.
In her lawsuit, Ellison states she requested an additional six weeks of leave but was instead terminated by the city.
The city has not responded to Ellison’s lawsuit.