Dr. Emannuella Cherisme last week filed an amended complaint against AIDS Care Group, which contains additional details about alleged sexual harassment she endured at the agency.
Cherisme, a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, worked at AIDS Care Group in 2013. She left the agency after allegedly experiencing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of her race, gender and national origin.
In a 13-page opinion issued July 26, U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro dismissed Cherisme’s initial complaint on the basis that it didn’t provide enough facts. However, Alejandro dismissed the case “without prejudice,” meaning Cherisme had the right to file a more-detailed complaint, which Cherisme did Aug. 17.
In the amended complaint, Cherisme’s attorneys claim that a physician at AIDS Care Group “touched [Cherisme’s] breasts, pressed his genitals against different parts of [Cherisme’s] body, tried to kiss [Cherisme] at work or at her home (sometimes forcefully), took her hands to press on his genitals and tried to remove [Cherisme’s] underwear when she would wear skirts or dresses. He constantly tried to make arrangements with her to try to have sexual relations with her.”
The physician also had Cherisme’s paychecks withheld because she rebuffed his sexual advances, according to the complaint.
Moreover, the physician “showed up at [Cherisme’s] home late at night and showed up at Orlando, Florida, when [Cherisme] was vacationing there with her children,” according to the complaint.
The physician also would call and text her frequently, then take her cellphone while she was seeing patients and delete any references to his calls and texts, according to the complaint.
Eventually, Cherisme blocked all calls and texts from the physician, according to the complaint.
The alleged harassment caused Cherisme “extreme stress and would have caused extreme stress to any reasonable person in [Cherisme’s] position,” according to the filing.
The filing also reiterates alleged racial comments from another staffer, mocking the color of Cherisme’s skin, and refusing to respect her as a professional.
That staffer allegedly “sabotaged” Cherisme by “preventing [Cherisme] from purchasing necessary supplies, blocking [Cherisme] from properly caring for her patients and constantly belittling [Cherisme],” the attorneys stated in the complaint.
After Cherisme’s dismissal, her HIV/AIDS clinic duties were given to a Caucasian nurse and a Caucasian family physician, according to the complaint.
Cherisme is seeking in excess of $150,000 in damages, along with legal fees and costs. She’s also requesting a jury trial.
AIDS Care Group, based in Delaware County, was formed in 1998, and serves as a comprehensive health-services agency for people with HIV/AIDS. It also receives federal HIV/AIDS-prevention funds.