Mrs Baird's, ex-employee face 2nd sexual harassment lawsuit

By MAX B. BAKER

Star-Telegram staff writer

FORT WORTH -- A second sexual harassment lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Mrs Baird's Bakeries and the former supervisor arrested on sexual assault charges last month. A woman identified only as "S" accuses Duane Ford of sexually assaulting, battering and molesting her several times at work. The lawsuit accuses Bimbo Bakeries USA, owner of Mrs Baird's, of not taking appropriate action to protect its employees. Ford, 45, the plant's former sanitation supervisor, was fired after the company conducted an internal investigation. It is unclear how many women are accusing Ford of molesting them while working at the bakery. Fort Worth attorney Chuck Noteboom filed his first lawsuit against Ford and Mrs Baird's in August, identifying his client in court papers as "B." Fort Worth detectives said that the case they filed in September involves another accuser who is also represented by Noteboom and that they are still investigating the accuser mentioned in Noteboom's initial lawsuit. Police said they are unaware of any other accusers. Noteboom's office did not return calls seeking information about the latest lawsuit. Angela Robinson, Ford's civil attorney, said she was unaware that a new suit had been filed and declined to comment on the case. But at the time of Ford's arrest, his criminal attorney said the accusations were "completely false." In a statement, officials at Mrs Baird's said they "believe the evidence will show that the company acted quickly and responsibly when these issues were brought to our attention." According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the woman said she attended church with Ford and had known him for years. The woman said that when she needed a job in March 2006, she asked Ford for help. The woman said that after she was hired, Ford forced her to have sex with him twice. The woman, who did not immediately report the incident to police, said she had heard that other female employees who had complained about Ford had been transferred or fired.

Max B. Baker

817-390-7714

maxbaker@star-telegram.com

Original Article

Read More Articles