The Bronx District Attorney’s sex crimes unit is rife with sexual harassment, according to a female prosecutor who says in a new lawsuit that her supervisor showed her photos of a defendant’s penis, commented on her breast size and joked about her having sex with police.
Heba Abdelaal, who is Muslim, filed the $2.5 million Manhattan federal lawsuit this week against the city and Bronx DA Darcel Clark alleging sexual harassment, religious discrimination and retaliation.
“The Bronx DA’s work environment is rampant with unlawful harassment, which goes unchecked and where the victims are retaliated against when they reject and complain about being sexually harassed by their supervisors and colleagues,” wrote Abdelaal’s attorney Christopher Lowe.
Abdelaal, of Staten Island, was hired in January 2019 as a prosecutor in the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Unit, which is part of the Special Victims Unit.
Felony assistant Anthony Perrotto, who was responsible for Abdelaal’s orientation and training “showed her pictures of a defendant’s penis, including one which he referred to as the ‘Micro Penis,'” the suit states.
He allegedly told her that her breasts were big, and questioned why she wore loose shirts that didn’t show them off, the papers state.
After learning that several police officers had asked Abdelaal for her phone number, Perrotto crudely stated, “if you keep having sex with police officers, you will have lacerations on your vagina,” the lawsuit alleges.
On another occasion, he allegedly asked Police Officer Matthew Barlow what he thought about Abdelaal’s breasts, then suggested she “get to know him,” the papers state. Perrotto allegedly insisted he was allowed to make “sexually inappropriate comments to her because he was homosexual,” the filing says.
Abdelaal complained about Perrotto’s allegedly boorish behavior to another prosecutor.
“It is just the environment here, it is a joke,” the colleague allegedly replied, according to the suit. “Maybe you shouldn’t work here.”
A disgusted Abdelaal started isolating herself from her co-workers, particularly Perrotto, and says that her supervisors responded by retaliating against her — including by requiring that her work be reviewed by another prosecutor after she made a mistake on a subpoena, accusing her of being abrasive and not assigning cases to her.
The toxic behavior continued unabated at a 2019 office Christmas party, where Abdelaal allegedly observed Perrotto grab a paralegal’s penis and simulate oral sex then grope a female supervisor’s breast, court papers claim.
Abdelaal, who reported the alleged misconduct, said Perrotto often appeared intoxicated.
Abdelaal alleges that her complaints weren’t taken seriously because she’s Muslim. Meanwhile, non-Muslim staffers who reported sexual harassment had their concerns addressed, the suit alleges.
As tensions in the office rose, Bureau Chief Rachel Ferrari allegedly told Abdelaal “she may not be ‘fit’ to work in the Special Victims Unit” because she was “a victim of domestic violence” even though no such policy exists, the complaint states.
The persistent sexual harassment and the retaliation caused her to develop PTSD and become suicidal, her lawyers wrote.
In June, Abdelaal filed a charge with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A Bronx DA crime analyst claimed in 2018 that the office is rife with misconduct and that staffers drink booze and have sex at work.
The Bronx DA didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Law Department spokesman said, “We’ll respond to the complaint and let the court process play out to determine whether there is merit to these allegations.”