College of Southern Nevada employee files sexual harassment lawsuit
A College of Southern Nevada employee filed a sexual harassment lawsuit this week against the college and her direct supervisor, alleging he began grooming her for sexual exploitation in 2018.
Lillian Babcock filed the complaint Monday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against the college and Ricardo Villalobos, executive director for the Division of Workforce and Economic Development.
The College of Southern Nevada does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Richard Lake said Wednesday night. He confirmed, though, that Babcock and Villalobos are CSN employees. Attempts to reach Villalobos for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.
Babcock — who has been employed by the college since 2013 — filed a charge of discrimination and retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year and received a right-to-sue letter Dec. 28, according to court documents.
Villalobos was hired in 2017 and became Babcock’s direct supervisor. The lawsuit describes Babcock as “a young and beautiful woman” and Villalobos as a “middle-aged man.”
While working as interim coordinator for the college’s personal and professional development program, Babcock received a master’s in public administration from UNLV in 2018. She also received either commendable or excellent ratings on all of her yearly performance evaluations at CSN, according to court documents.
The lawsuit alleges that Villalobos “began a process of grooming Lillian for sexual exploitation” in 2018. It further alleges that he “engaged in grooming in an effort to obtain sexual favors from Lillian.”
It outlines several claims, including sexual harassment resulting in a hostile work environment, retaliation, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
An attorney representing Babcock did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.