THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512150492
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
A Navy captain charged with sexually harassing one or more of his subordinates at a Navy public works center in Hawaii says the charge is the result of a ``personal vendetta'' and ``designed to take advantage of public sensitivity'' to the Navy's recent problems with harassment cases.
In a written statement provided to reporters, Capt. Fred W. Dew blamed the charge on disgruntled employees ``who perceived that they were negatively impacted when I placed them under the supervision of a more strident manager.''
Dew added that ``I have never sexually harassed any employee of the Public Works Center.''
Dew also hotly disputed an adultery charge placed against him in an unrelated case. He said that allegation was made by his fiancee's ex-husband, a man ``unwilling to accept the fact that his former spouse divorced him earlier this year and is now engaged to me.''
Dew, an African American, also suggested that the adultery charge could be racially motivated. His fiancee was identified by a Honolulu television station as Betsy Pratt, the former wife of a prominent businessman on the island of Oahu.
KEYWORDS: SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAWSUIT U.S. NAVY by CNB