Barreira accused of sexual harassment

LIHU‘E — A current state court judge’s assistant at the Lihu‘e courthouse has in a lawsuit accused a former supervisor of sexual harassment, retaliation, defamation, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and damage to her marriage.

Leanne Rosa and husband Patrick Rosa are plaintiffs represented by attorney Mark Zenger, with accusations made against Ernest Barreira, former deputy chief court administrator for the state Judiciary’s 5th Circuit Court.

The civil suit was filed March 19.

Barreira, who served as best man in the Rosas’ 1996 wedding, in an e-mail statement denied all the allegations.

In the suit, Leanne Rosa claims she “endured recurring incidences of sex discrimination” by Barreira from around June 2007, and reported the incidences in accordance with the state department’s policies in April 2009.

Between April 2008 and February 2009 Barreira allegedly uttered “in sexually suggestive tones and without any operational reason” words that created “a sexually hostile work environment for Leanne,” according to the lawsuit.

No court date has been scheduled in the matter, but four Kaua‘i judges — Randal Valenciano, Kathleen Watanabe, Calvin Murashige and Trudy Senda — have all disqualified themselves from being able to hear the case due to conflicts of interest.

Leanne Rosa is a judicial assistant to Valenciano, and before Valenciano became a judge she worked for Valenciano as a secretary in his law office.

Patrick Rosa’s brother, Michael Rosa, is married to Barreira’s sister, Corinne Barreira-Rosa, according to the lawsuit.

Barreira knew about the Judiciary’s zero-tolerance policy about sexual harassment in the workplace, the suit states.

Judiciary spokesperson Marsha Kitagawa would only confirm that Barreira was no longer a Judiciary employee, not whether he was terminated or quit.

The lawsuit states Barreira was terminated after Leanne Rosa’s allegations were reported to Judiciary supervisors.

Barreira in his statement said he was fired, adding that the pending court case will be his chance to prove Rosa’s statements are false and that she is “motivated by hate and revenge for what she believes are past wrongs.”

“Leanne Rosa experienced stress, severe headaches, nausea, disrupted sleep and loss of consortium (a spouse’s right to the company, help and affection of his or her spouse) with her husband,” the suit states.

Specifically, the lawsuit describes unsolicited back, shoulder and neck massages delivered by Barreira on Rosa in her and Barreira’s work areas, and inappropriate telephone and in-person comments about Rosa’s physical appearance and that of another female court employee.

When Rosa on a third occasion did not comply with Barreira’s order to come to his office, he “commenced a series of operational problems with the bail-release forms, courtroom hearings and trial scheduling by and through his influence over and command and control of the Legal Documents Branch and its personnel,” the suit states.

This all happened after female co-workers warned Rosa when she was new to the Judiciary to “watch out” for Barreira, and that he was “mean,” “manipulative,” “vindictive” and “power hungry,” and that he would “make your life miserable” if she filed a complaint against him, the suit states.

The suit further contends that when Barreira found out about Rosa’s complaint and subsequent internal administrative investigation, he began making false statements and reports to employees and others. He also allegedly induced others to make false statements and reports to members of the internal investigation team of the Judiciary and, later, to a grievance panel when Barreira tried to get his job back.

Barreira filed a grievance with the Judiciary in an attempt to get his job back, and again lied and induced others to lie about facts of the case before the Office of the Board of Merit Appeals, the suit states.

The suit seeks special, general and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief, to be determined at trial.

“My family and I are very disappointed to learn that Ms. Rosa filed this lawsuit,” Barreira said in an e-mailed statement.

“The evidence will show that her lawsuit is based on falsehoods and she is motivated by hate and revenge for what she believes are past wrongs. For some unexplained reason, she is using any means possible to strike out at me and destroy my family, my career and my reputation in our community,” he said.

“This has to stop. I want it made clear that my family and I are united against these false charges and will aggressively defend this lawsuit,” said Barreira. “I have been a loyal and dedicated public servant to the Hawai‘i state Judiciary and the people of the County of Kaua‘i for more than 23 years. I have dedicated countless hours in service to my community, church and family.

“People who know me understand that I am not capable of the hateful things being said about me. My family and I have suffered a tremendous amount because of her false allegations,” he said.

“It has taken a toll on us personally, emotionally, professionally, and been a financial burden after she got me fired from my job. This case gives me, my family and my friends, the opportunity to expose to everyone in our community that her claims are false and what kind of person she really is,” he said.

“I am forever grateful to my wife and children, my family and friends for their support and continued commitment to have the truth come out once and for all.”

Barreira said in a brief telephone interview Monday that he is soon to begin a new job with the County of Kaua‘i Department of Finance, as a procurement officer.

Zenger said by telephone Monday that he is anticipating Barreira’s answer to the suit and is looking forward to Rosa getting her day in court.

• Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com.