Somerset County sheriff's officer sues over alleged sexual harassment

A Somerset County corrections officer is suing the county and the Sheriff's Office, alleging she was the victim of a hostile work environment by a superior officer's sexual harassment.

Kristen Delacruz, who has worked for the Sheriff's Office since 2013, claims in the 35-page suit filed May 21 in Somerset County Superior Court that she was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor, Capt. Donald Essig.

Somerset County does not comment on pending litigation.

Delacruz, who is also a delegate for PBA Local 177, the union representing the corrections officers, is assigned to the jail's kitchen.

The incident that precipitated the litigation was in January 2023, according to the lawsuit, when Delacruz called Sheriff Darrin Ruso about training issues and Essig pulling officers "off the line" – working a post in the jail with inmates present – causing three extra officers to work mandatory overtime.

Delacruz told Essig that she had called Russo and the officers were "put back on the line."

Essig then allegedly said to Lt. James Villamil, the president of PBA Local 177, "who the … does she think she is calling the sheriff," according to the lawsuit.

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Villamil then told the captain that Delacruz was the PBA delegate and could call the sheriff with any union-related issues, such as staffing and overtime, the lawsuit says.

On the following day, Essig enforced a vest-wearing rule directed toward Delacruz, the lawsuit alleges, though she had not worn a vest since January 2021.

Because of the timing, the lawsuit charges the order was "retaliation" for Delacruz calling the sheriff.

Because her vest had been damaged in a house fire in March 2021, Delacruz had difficulty in finding a vest that fit properly.

Delacruz had been asking for a female cut vest since March 2021, but had been denied because she was told "that if the Department ordered a special cut vest for her, they would be required to order one for every female officer," according to the lawsuit.

Later that month, the captain stopped Delacruz in a vestibule and "felt her up to see if she was wearing a vest," the lawsuit alleges.

"This conduct would not have occurred if (Delacruz) was not female," the lawsuit argues.

After that incident, Delacruz contacted the human resources department and said she would be filing a complaint about the captain.

Essig was ordered not to work when Delacruz was on duty until the issue was resolved, the lawsuit says. Delacruz was also ordered to avoid contact with Essig which the lawsuit claims was punishment.

But Essig, according to the lawsuit, had a pattern of "repeatedly seeming to appear where (Delacruz) was for the next many months" until he was placed on administrative paid leave because of an Internal Affairs investigation.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office investigated the incident and did not file any charges against Essig.

He then returned to work on Dec. 26, 2023. "It was mysterious how he was put out on administrative leave for sexual harassment and then returned to duty prior to the investigation being completed," the lawsuit contends.

Essig being on duty while the investigation is ongoing makes Delacruz "feel unsafe, anxious and threatened," the lawsuit says, and she feels "intense shame and embarrassment from the trauma."

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Somerset County sheriff's officer sues over alleged sexual harassment