Nonprofit, chief sued; harassment alleged

Allegations of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed Friday against the Hallie Q. Brown Center and Executive Director Jonathan Palmer paint a lurid picture of impropriety.

Leah Ellis, 33, of Brooklyn Center, was an executive assistant to Palmer at the private, nonprofit social service agency from June 18, 2008, until she was fired Dec. 11 and says she had to endure a stream of not-so-subtle harassment. Among the allegations in her suit in Ramsey County District Court:

• Palmer said, "Oooh, your [backside] looks ripe as a peach."

• He frequently tried to bait Ellis into inappropriate conversations.

• He bragged about his private parts and sexual prowess.

• He disclosed confidential and sensitive information to Ellis about teachers in the center's child care center hitting children and about a male employee who lied about his credentials.

The Hallie Q. Brown Community Center/Martin Luther King Center at 270 N. Kent St. in St. Paul offers day care, after-school enrichment, Meals on Wheels, senior transportation and outreach, a day camp, emergency food and clothing, early intervention programs and youth programs.

Palmer, 43, of Minneapolis, was hired as executive director of the center in June 2008. That was about seven months after he had left his post as executive director of the Minneapolis Empowerment Zone following sexual harassment allegations against him.

Melissa Heus, Palmer's executive assistant there, sued him and the city for sexual harassment. The city settled with her for $15,000, and Palmer left the $72,530-per-year job.

Attorneys for Palmer and the Hallie Q. Brown Center, Seymour Mansfield and J.B. Roth, did not return phone calls Friday. They did write a 14-page response to a discrimination complaint Ellis filed with the St. Paul Human Rights Department in October. According to Ellis' suit, Palmer stalked her at her home. Among other things, the lawyers' response indicated that "between Oct. 17 and Oct. 29, 2008, six individuals filed seven charges of discrimination."

Ellis' suit said she told Brown Center director Linda White and Carter about the abuse in October but neither took action.

Carter said Friday that is "absolutely false that I heard the complaint and did nothing. As soon as we found out about it, we did investigate it."

Ellis is suing for sexual discrimination/harassment, retaliation/reprisal, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring/retention/supervision, invasion of privacy, and assault and battery. The lawsuit asks for the standard "in excess of $50,000" as well as punitive damages.