UXBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) – “He would come in and say, I just want to stare at you. He would make inappropriate comments talking about his sex life,” says Kailey Roy. “He turned everything into a sexual joke.”
“It was completely wrong,” says Haley Linnehan. “It was uncomfortable. It was awkward.”
Police dispatchers Kailey Roy and Haley Linnehan are talking about an Uxbridge Police Officer.
They say Sergeant Kevin MacDonald sexually harassed them when they were working as dispatchers. They also say their managers didn’t do enough to stop him.
“The things that he said and did in front of Haley and I are not appropriate, at all. It shouldn’t be tolerated,” says Roy.
The two women have individually filed sexual harassment lawsuits against MacDonald and the Town of Uxbridge.
Linnehan claims in her suit, that just days after George Floyd died while being arrested, Sergeant MacDonald sent a “distasteful photoshopped photo into a group chat,” of a naked man sitting on top of Floyd.
That picture is too offensive for 7 News to show.
“It was shocking,” says Linnehan. “You think did this really just happen to me?”
In her lawsuit, Roy claims the sergeant made sexual gestures with his baton.
“We got together and decided enough is enough. We can’t handle this anymore,” says Roy.
Linnehan and Roy say they complained to their supervisor, a Lieutenant, in June of last year.
“There was definitely hope in the beginning for both of us. We thought it was just going to be dealt with,” says Linnehan.
But a few days later, the women say another officer told them – he had already reported the Sergeant’s inappropriate behavior to that same supervisor months before.
“He said that he had spoken to the Lt. back in March or April,” says Linnehan. “It was never followed up with. It was never documented, in any way.”
“When I found out that it was already reported to him, I figured I can’t trust him,” says Roy.
The lawsuits detail the sergeant’s eventual reassignment to a different shift. But the women say that change didn’t happen soon enough, and there was still some overlap on shifts.
“I felt completely revictimized,” says Linnehan.
In court documents, Sergeant MacDonald denies all of the allegations.
His lawyer, Douglas Louison, tells 7-investigates: “On his behalf, I will say that MacDonald never intended nor thought that his conduct would in any way offend any of his department colleagues. It is unfortunate that these matters have been made into lawsuits, but both he and I are confident that when the claims are reviewed in Court, he will be vindicated.”
Sergeant MacDonald retired five months after the women came forward, in October 2020.
“There were no consequences at all,” says Linnehan.
Roy is still with Uxbridge Police. Linnehan left. She’s now a dispatcher in North Carolina.
We asked Linnehan and Roy why they came forward.
“You’re entitled to feel safe,” says Linnehan. “And if you aren’t, you need to tell somebody.”
“You should never have to feel uncomfortable in the workplace,” says Roy.
The lawsuits also name the Uxbridge Police Chief and the women’s supervisor, a Lieutenant. A lawyer representing those parties denies the allegations in court filings. When asked for a statement, they said it is policy “not to comment on pending litigation.”
We also asked the attorneys, whether the Sergeant was ever placed on administrative leave when these allegations were made. They told 7 News, “we will not comment on personnel matters.”
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