Sex scandal at West Hollywood City Hall sparks calls for less Grindr
West Hollywood agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against the city and Councilman John Duran. The suit was brought on behalf of Ian Owens, whom Duran hired as his deputy after meeting him on Grindr, the smartphone dating app for gay and bisexual men, and then having sex with him.
Councilman John D'Amico, who like Duran is gay, said he often looked over during public meetings and saw Duran "trolling for men on Grindr."
"This is not gay-life excuse time, or 'This is how we do it because we're gay,'" D'Amico said at a council meeting. "This is we-live-in-the-21st-century time, and treating people with respect and care and following not just the letter of the law but the spirit of the law is ... part of who we are as a city."
Owens ... said Duran solicited him for sex and showed Owens nude photographs on his phone of men he'd slept with.
Michelle Rex, the former deputy to D'Amico, also sued West Hollywood, alleging the city retaliated against her for substantiating Owens' sexual harassment allegations and other complaints by firing her. She is represented by Owens' attorneys.
Duran was well-known for saying suggestive things. One interviewee, whose name was redacted, gave an example in which a member of a swim team sat in the front row of a council meeting in a Speedo swimsuit and Duran joked that he was distracted.
http://www.latimes.com/local/westside/la-me-weho-sex-culture-20160411-story.html
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