SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif — A University of California San Diego professor is suing the County of San Diego, alleging former County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher retaliated against her after she reported a sexual harassment claim against him to university administrators in April 2023.
According to a newly filed lawsuit, obtained by CBS 8, UC San Diego lecturer of Urban Studies, Juli Beth Hinds, said Fletcher and county staff abruptly ended contracts that her consulting firm had with the county days after she reported that Fletcher sexually harassed one of her students.
In the lawsuit, Hinds said that on April 7, 2023, barely one week after former Metropolitan Transit System employee Grecia Figueroa accused Fletcher of sexually assaulting her, the UC San Diego lecturer went to UC San Diego's Office of Student Disability Services to inform them that one of her students went to Hinds with a report that Fletcher had sexually harassed her.
At the time in addition to serving as a County Supervisor, Fletcher worked as a "Professor of Practice" at UC San Diego's Political Science Department.
According to Hinds, the Student Disability Administrator told Hinds to submit an official Title IX complaint and that, according to Hinds, any reports "concerning Fletcher [would] go directly to [the UCSD] Director."
Less than two hours later on the same day, April 7, Hinds said a different UC San Diego administrator sent her an email requesting the name of the student who reported the harassment, as well as confirmation that it was Fletcher who allegedly harassed her.
Days later, according to the complaint, Hinds said that Fletcher and the county conspired to end two contracts that Hinds' outside consulting business had with the county.
That plan culminated on April 13 when the county notified Hinds that County staff did not want her to give an in-person presentation on water equity to staff. Instead, according to Hinds, someone else was asked to give the presentation.
"The county requested a change in the presentation that I need to discuss with you," read an April 13 email from a colleague to Hinds.
Two weeks later, Hinds said the county told her that it was "discontinuing" her contract, according to the lawsuit.
Ending the county contract also impacted Hinds' job at UC San Diego and another professor had to be brought on to facilitate workshops with the county, reducing Hinds' hours and responsibilities at UCSD.
In the lawsuit, Hinds claimed that the county instructed UC San Diego to prohibit Hinds from working on the contract, "in retaliation for [Hinds] obligatory filing of a Title IX complaint against Fletcher, the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the County, on behalf of her student who reported his harassing conduct to Plaintiff."
A spokesperson for the County of San Diego declined to comment on the filing.
