A state agency sued Disney, ABC and CBS Studios Tuesday, alleging all looked the other way while the director of photography for "Criminal Minds'' inappropriately touched men on the set for years.
According to the Los Angeles Superior Court civil rights suit filed by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, more than a dozen men were fired for complaining about Gregory St. John's alleged behavior.
"On a frequent and regular basis, St. Johns touched numerous men on the testicles, anus, butt cheeks, breasts and kissed or caressed their necks, shoulders and ears, among other actions,'' the suit alleges.
St. Johns also is a defendant in the suit, which seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
A Disney representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
"St. Johns 'doted' on certain men and treated them more favorably, provided they acquiesced to his attention,'' the complaint alleges.
He retaliated against those who resisted by giving them the "silent treatment, social ostracism, unfair criticism, public shaming, and ultimately termination,'' the suit alleges.
With the aid of studio executives, St. Johns created an "unchecked intimidating, hostile and offensive work environment on the set of "Criminal Minds,''' the suit alleges.
The studio executives fired more than a dozen men at St. Johns' request, including an entire electrical crew, after they resisted St. Johns' alleged harassment, the suit states.
ABC and CBS co-produced the show, which aired on CBS from September 2005 until February of this year.
