Gay airport guard claims sexual harassment
A gay security guard at Heathrow airport was harassed by a female colleague for sex, an employment tribunal heard yesterday.
Allwyn Rondeau, 46, who lives in Feltham, Middlesex with his partner of 15 years, told the tribunal how he had rejected 42-year-old Lucy Chilton’s persistent advances time and time again because he was gay, but she would not give up.
The tribunal heard that on one occasion Miss Chilton “stuck her bum in the air saying ‘come on give it to me'”, according to The Daily Express.
At other times, she allegedly “wobbled her breasts” against him and called him “batty boy.”
At first, Mr Rondeau did not complain because he did not want to draw attention to the fact that he was gay.
“Throughout I chose not to complain formally as I didn’t want to rock the boat,” he said.
But when Miss Chilton told superiors that Mr Rondeau had grabbed her and simulated sex with her, a claim which was discovered to be untrue after an investigation, he finally decided to file an official complaint.
Now Mr Rondeau is suing Miss Chilton, his employers G4S Security Services and several other employees for discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
The tribunal was also told that Mr Rondeau had suffered from depression since the investigation had begun and had been unable to return to work.
Mr Rondeau said that he no longer felt comfortable around women and that he rarely left the house without his partner.
When asked by Miss Chilton’s lawyer why he did not report matters sooner if the situation was so bad, Mr Rondeau replied:
“I kept on trying to take it and I tried to be strong, but eventually when she came up with these things (her harassment claims) I felt like a pervert. And I’m not a pervert.”
The tribunal in Reading, Berkshire, continues.
