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Hallie Q. Brown Center sexual harassment

Nonprofit, chief sued; harassment alleged

A former Hallie Q. Brown Center executive assistant claims she was targeted, but the agency denies it. 
Allegations of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed Friday against the Hallie Q. Brown Center and Executive Director Jonathan Palmer paint a lurid picture of impropriety.
Leah Ellis, 33, of Brooklyn Center, was an executive assistant to Palmer at the private, nonprofit social service agency from June 18, 2008, until she was fired Dec. 11 and says she had to endure a stream of not-so-subtle harassment. Among the allegations in her suit in Ramsey County District Court:
• Palmer said, "Oooh, your [backside] looks ripe as a peach."
• He frequently tried to bait Ellis into inappropriate conversations.
• He bragged about his private parts and sexual prowess.
• He disclosed confidential and sensitive information to Ellis about teachers in the center's child care center hitting children and about a male employee who lied about his credentials.
The Hallie Q. Brown Community Center/Martin Luther King Center at 270 N. Kent St. in St. Paul offers day care, after-school enrichment, Meals on Wheels, senior transportation and outreach, a day camp, emergency food and clothing, early intervention programs and youth programs.

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