Lake County Employees Awarded In Sexual Harassment Settlement

LAKE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Three women who accused former Lake County Undersheriff Fernando Mendoza of sexual harassment have received a settlement from the department. The women were Lake County employees at the time of the harassment and will receive $875,000. 

"He was very demeaning towards myself and all women. He definitely manipulated the environment and it was controlled that everything had to be on his terms," said Nicole Garner, one of the victims.

Mendoza was fired after the complaints were brought against him and the ensuing sexual harassment investigation led to discovery of Mendoza's manipulation of his teenage step-daughter in 2012, according to prosecutors with the 5th Judicial District District Attorney's Office.

Mendoza was indicted by a grand jury of seven counts in December of 2017 and faced the possibility of life in prison. A year later he was convicted on two of the charges – Attempt to Commit First Degree Aggravated Incest, a felony, and Attempt to Commit Invasion of Privacy for Sexual Gratification – by a jury.

"I did not know that that was happening, but he is a predator. So that part of it… I wasn't surprised," Garner told CBS4's Dominic Garcia.

Her attorney, Nicholas Lutz, said this settlement sends a message that employers need to take sexual harassment seriously. Garner hopes her story will encourage other victims, both women and men, to speak up.

"You are not alone. There are resources you can use, there are places you can reach for help when you're ready."

CBS4 reached out to the Lake County Sheriff's Office for comment but has not heard back.