Cosumnes River College student Iris Perez met with crisis counselor Hoyt Fong for months before he unexpectedly kissed her during a session in January. Months later, she is now suing him for covering up the incident.
The lawsuit was filed last week in Sacramento Superior Court, and accuses Fong, the Los Rios Community College District, and the Los Rios Federation of Teachers for plotting to hide the incident. The suit also accuses the former counselor and the college district of “intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gender violence and assault,” the Sacramento Bee reports. The damages Perez is trying to obtain isn’t specified.
Back in March, the Sacramento Bee interviewed Perez about the incident. She said the January 2nd counseling session had ended with a hug, which became a regularly occurring action between the two. According to the lawsuit, Perez had gone to Fong for crisis counseling following an emotional emergency in the fall of 2017. Every two weeks she had appointments with him until January when Fong kissed her.
“It was a shock. I didn’t know how to react. I was frozen. I tried to brush it off, just to get out as fast as I could. When I was getting into my car it all hit me at once and then that’s when I started crying. It was unbelievable,” Perez said in an interview with the publication. Fong following the incident with another hug, and scheduling her next appointment.
Perez said she was pressured to withdraw a report she placed with the school and the district, but refused to do so.
The former counselor worked within the district for more than 40 years. As the Sacramento Bee reports, he resigned ten days later, following his refusal to take part in the investigation of the incident.
The investigation did conclude that the accusation of gender discrimination was legitimate. As well, this isn’t the only complaint made against Fong. According to Kresta Daley, who is representing Perez, there are complaints going back 10 years against the former counselor. The suit also claims that the district and its teachers has downplayed and ignored the claims of sexual misconduct in order to reduce liability.
“The biggest issue is that Los Rios has a history of sweeping these allegations under the rug and that they need to make some systematic changes. That is Ms. Perez’s goal – to make changes at the district,” said Kresta Daley to the Sacramento Bee.