ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – An investigation into claims of retaliation for reporting sexual harassment in St. Johns County remains a topic of discussion at county commission meetings.
The husband of the woman making these claims spoke during the public comment section, expressing his concerns about the investigation.
“This investigation is a complete sham,” Martin Pyszczymuka said, highlighting his dissatisfaction with how the process has been handled.
News4JAX’s reporting, which included emails from an anonymous source, triggered an investigation into who leaked those emails by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. Although the Sheriff’s Office found no evidence of a crime, the county’s investigation into retaliation still leaves many questions unanswered.
Interim County Attorney Rich Kommando provided an update at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
“Just so the public knows, the conclusion of the first investigative report was disseminated,” he said to commissioners. “There have been some public records requests. Those records requests have to be reviewed for redaction issues, but if you have any questions, we can discuss them offline.”
Pyszczymuka also criticized the investigation for not interviewing the complainant.
“I have never heard of an investigation where the complainant is not actually interviewed. It’s a complete travesty,” he said.
Kommando responded to that claim later on by stating, “They were offered the opportunity to be interviewed and chose to decline, claiming an ADA accommodation, which is not recognized by the ADA.”
Pyszczymuka also raised issues with the county’s handling of public records requests.
“As for public records for all outside legal counsel, I was given what appears to be an accounting ledger that includes entries like LexisNexis and a Holiday Inn. There’s also no dates, any time, or type of service that the firm was required for,” he said.
An anonymous source sent News4JAX the email that was sent to commissioners by the complainant back in February. The email says she faced ongoing retaliation for reporting a fellow employee’s workplace misconduct. She mentioned that another employee had also experienced harassing behavior from this employee. She says when she attempted to escalate this through proper channels, she was met with dismissiveness, resistance, and ultimately, retaliation.
Commissioner Ann Taylor shared that the employee has been on administrative leave for a month with no explanation as to why.
“We the taxpayers are paying her salary every day for a month, and she’s not allowed to do her job. Being put on leave without being told why is unacceptable,” she said. “In contrast, the alleged sexual harasser was never put on administrative leave.”
Taylor added that the alleged sexual harasser was scheduled to move to a different location a week after the complaint.
“Two women who complained had to face him for those seven days, and that meant that they could either encounter him in a parking lot where one of them alleges that he harassed her and she could be exposed even further for more harassment. Why wasn’t he put on leave or at least moved out immediately?” she asked.
Kommando explained, “The challenge with that is he doesn’t work for us. We don’t have authority over him, so we did contact our contractor who does handle that employee and the issue was resolved, as you saw in the report, in an appropriate amount of time.”
Taylor wanted more answers regarding the complainant’s return to work, but Kommando stated, “That’s a personnel issue that we should not be discussing in the public meeting.”
County Administrator Joy Andrews sent News4JAX this statement about the investigation:
“We take every single personnel matter very seriously and address them strictly through our established process to ensure appropriate protection and fairness. This very principle was confirmed by the independent reviewer’s conclusion. I have full confidence in our procedures and the professionalism of our team. The outcome of this review, or any review, has never been a concern for me, because when the proper process is followed and employee’s well-being is prioritized, the findings support the employee.
It saddens me that this highly sensitive matter has been brought to a public forum, because my concern is for the employee. At this time, I would like to see closure for this matter.
The Board of County Commissioners assigned this investigation to the Office of the County Attorney so I will defer to that office for questions related to the report.”
Joy Andrews, St. Johns County Administrator
News4JAX is still waiting for the county to fulfill its public records request related to the investigation.