Commissioner Leon faced a harassment allegation before leaving the nonprofit

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Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox faced sexual harassment charges involving at least one woman at the Boys and Girls Club of Big Bend when he abruptly quit his job last year as manager executive of the non-profit association.

The allegations were referenced in a recent email exchange obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat between Boys and Girls Club officials and an employee who alleged Maddox sexually harassed her. This woman is a close relative of Rudy Ferguson, a pastor who challenged Maddox in the 2022 election.

She complained about Maddox some time before her unceremonious exit from the nonprofit in late August. His allegations prompted the Boys and Girls Club’s board of directors to hire an out-of-town law firm to investigate, multiple sources told the Democrat.

The firm’s conclusions, made after his resignation during a closed-door board meeting, remain secret. A source described the investigation as “very thorough”.

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Maddox, who initially declined to discuss the allegations in October, released a short statement on Monday and said he would not comment further on the matter.

“In my personal life, I’ve always put my family first,” Maddox said. “In my professional life, I have always put my service to the community first. It is unfortunate that in these times, and especially during political campaign season, people try to cancel people or tear them down. others. I will not engage in that kind of politics or personal attacks.”

The woman, who has a pending sexual harassment lawsuit unrelated to the city of Tallahassee, emailed the Boys and Girls Club board of directors last month in response to staff questions about her sick leave federal.

Complainant says Boys and Girls club turned a blind eye to charges against Nick Maddox

She complained to the association because she had faced discrimination and retaliation after reporting that Maddox had sexually harassed her. She also accused Boys and Girls Club officials of turning a blind eye, calling their actions and lack of due diligence “gravely concerning”.

The woman, whom the Democrat does not identify in this article because she is an alleged victim of sexual harassment, provided few details in her email about Maddox’s behavior or what she called his “fraternization of the employees”.

“As an employee of Boys and Girls Clubs of Big Bend, I feel like I have been retaliated against, treated with indifference and targeted by certain employees,” she wrote. “I am deeply concerned about the lack of integrity, support and response I have received from management.”

Maddox, who spent two years with the organization before his sudden departure, and the nonprofit’s board and staff kept the accusations secret for months.

Looking Deeper: ‘It Gets Complicated’: Inconsistencies Arise When Commissioners Declare Conflicts of Interest

When asked for the first time about his departure from the nonprofit in October, Maddox told the Democrat that he “had done everything I could for the organization” and that it was time for him to ” move on and focus on something else”.

When a reporter asked him soon after if his outing involved allegations of sexual harassment, he declined to answer yes or no, referring “personal” questions to the nonprofit. Boys and Girls Club officials, meanwhile, also declined to speak about it at the time, saying the matters were confidential “in accordance with the law.”

Several attempts to speak with Ferguson’s relative failed. Neither she nor her attorney in the city lawsuit responded to the Democrat’s messages.

In her email to the Boys and Girls Club, she claimed Maddox “admitted” to sexually harassing her and another employee, although she did not specify the circumstances or the second person. She criticized Acting Executive Director Kacy Dennis and Chairman of the Board DeWayne Harvey, who she said “failed to report these allegations.”

“Dennis was also fully aware of Nick Maddox’s fraternization with employees and sexual harassment, but condoned these actions by engaging in conversations, making statements and encouraging me to entertain Mr. Maddox on multiple occasions,” he said. she writes.

Harvey and Dennis declined to comment. The Boys and Girls Club released a brief prepared statement Monday in response to questions from the Democrat.

“Our organization is aware that an employee has raised concerns, and we are in the process of addressing those concerns,” the nonprofit organization said. “However, as all personnel matters are confidential, we are unable to comment further on this situation.”

Maddox joined the Boys and Girls Club in August 2019 after a nearly two-year stint as executive director of the Foundation for Leon County Schools. He earned $125,000 from the Boys and Girls Club in 2020 on top of his county salary of $81,000, according to his financial records.

The Democrat tried to contact the nearly two dozen people who serve on the Boys and Girls Club’s board of directors, which includes government officials, business leaders and media professionals. Its members include Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil and Democratic publicity executive Cari Thro.

None of the council members would officially speak. Many have not returned phone calls. Some said they were no longer on the board or were inactive.

In its statement, the organization noted that it accepted Maddox’s resignation on August 27. She said that since then, “all club operations and programs have progressed as normal. The Boys and Girls Club of the Big Bend remains committed to our mission to provide young people with a safe, inclusive and fun environment where they can learn, grow and thrive.”

Woman taken time off from Boys and Girls Club due to ‘work-induced stress’

Dennis emailed the woman on Jan. 25 saying she was about to use up her 12 weeks of federal sick leave. She responded the next day, although she copied all the board members and emailed them.

Alluding to a disability, she wrote that her health was declining due to emotional and mental “work-induced stress”. She said she planned to be out of the office until March on federal sick leave.

“My goal is to be a valued employee of Boys and Girls Clubs by ‘helping those who need us most,'” she wrote. “I intend to return to work on doctor’s orders and recommendations.”

She told the board that she was forced to use all of her federal leave because she couldn’t perform her essential job duties in the office “during weak times.” She complained of “office gossip” and a hostile work environment.

“I also expressed my concern of discrimination regarding my disability by being denied telecommuting after filing my sexual harassment complaint against former CEO Nick Maddox,” she wrote, “being demoted from my previous position … denial of bonuses and now forced resignation letter.”

This is not the first time she has made sexual harassment allegations involving her workplace, according to court records.

She filed a lawsuit against the city in 2020, alleging that a parks and recreation department supervisor made continuous sexual advances and groped her after a social outing with co-workers. She started working for the city in 2018 but was “forced out of the job” due to sexual harassment and related office fallout.

According to the lawsuit, she filed a complaint against the supervisor and informed the city of the alleged assault after it happened. His complaint says the city investigated for two months before finding the supervisor “acted appropriately.”

“However, (the city) also concluded that the harassment suffered by the complainant was consensual, despite her direct statements to the contrary, and therefore did not constitute ‘sexual harassment’ under (the city’s) policies,” its complaint states. .

His lawyers recently filed a notice saying the case will go to mediation in April.

Maddox complaint casts uncertainty over county commission race

The woman’s allegations come amid a contentious race for her county commission seat, one of two countywide positions on the otherwise district-based seven-person council. Aside from Ferguson, three others have filed their candidacy against Maddox.

Plus: 3 county commissioners have 2 public jobs

Ferguson, pastor of the New Birth Tabernacle of Praise Church and a longtime advocate for the Griffin Heights neighborhood, has not publicly discussed Maddox’s complaint. He briefly spoke about it officially in a Dec. 9 interview with the Democrat, but said his family member shared almost nothing about what happened.

“She said inappropriate behavior,” Ferguson said. “I don’t know the details.”

However, Ferguson walked back his comments the next day, saying he was unsure if he was speaking “accurately”. nothing to do with his candidacy.

“It’s more what I’ve done in the community and what I continue to do in the community,” Ferguson said. “I want to level up to keep doing it at the county level.”

Maddox, 41, played on Florida State University’s championship football team in 1999 and spent three years in the NFL. He and his wife have three children.

He was a political rookie in 2010 when he ousted longtime county commissioner Cliff Thaell. Four years later, he rubbed shoulders with his re-election against a single opponent. In 2018, he won automatically after no one showed up against him.

Maddox is vice chairman of the county commission and chairman of the board of Blueprint 2020, which meets later this month to pass a controversial $27 million appropriation for FSU stadium repairs.

“I will remain focused on the work of moving this community forward and training people,” he said in his written statement.

Contact Jeff Burlew at [email protected] or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

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