Cal Fire employee says a captain groped her at work. She’s seeking $1.75 million in damages
A Cal Fire employee has filed a $1.75 million negligence claim against the agency, San Luis Obispo County and Los Osos Community Services District after she was allegedly groped on the job by a captain who now faces a criminal charge.
James Peter Thomas has pleaded not guilty in San Luis Obispo Superior Court to a single misdemeanor count of sexual battery. He is currently scheduled to change his plea in court July 29.
The employee, Carrie Young, worked at the South Bay’s Station 15 as assistant to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Provence.
She told The Tribune in January that Thomas reached under her shirt and groped her at her work desk.
“It was just a complete shock that something like that could happen in such a safe place,” Young said at the time. She declined comment for this article.
The claims, filed in May, allege that Thomas came to Young’s work desk on Dec. 2, 2020, and attempted to give her a hug. He then put his hands up her shirt and groped her.
Later that same day, Thomas asked Young to say goodbye to him before she left for the day and left his phone number on a Post-It note.
The claim says that government officials failed to take reasonable measures to protect Young from Thomas, who was a Cal Fire captain before retiring from the agency two days after his arrest.
The claim states that Young continues to suffer from emotional distress, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of income. She is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.
Administrative claims are the first step in filing a civil lawsuit. If a government entity rejects the claim, a petitioner may file a complaint in Superior Court.
A Cal Fire spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
It’s San Luis Obispo County’s position that its agreement with Cal Fire indemnifies the county from any liability over the incident. County counsel Rita Neal said the county additionally plans to deny the claim.
Ron Munds, general manager for the Los Osos CSD, said Thursday that the district board voted in closed session June 3 to also reject the claim.
Cal Fire captain retired quietly after his arrest
Thomas’ arrest was first reported by The Tribune roughly five days following his departure from Cal Fire on Dec. 18, which occurred four days after his arrest.
Employee rosters provided to The Tribune by Cal Fire show Thomas had worked for the agency in San Luis Obispo County for at least several years.
After the alleged sexual battery, Young previously said she reported the incident to the battalion chief, who immediately notified the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office to investigate.
With investigators on the line, she conducted a “pretext” phone call to Thomas in which he admitted to the conduct, she previously said.
Five days after Thomas’ arrest, on Dec. 22, Cal Fire sent a news release to area media announcing the retirement of five local Cal Fire captains the previous month.
Thomas’ retirement was not mentioned in that release.
If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, Thomas faces a maximum of six months in San Luis Obispo County Jail and a $1,000 fine.
This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 4:15 PM.
