After zero-tolerance vow, a park chief cited for sexual harassment gets a bonus and new job
The case comes as the National Park Service confronts a string of episodes of sexual misconduct
Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Lisa Rein.
On his first day in office, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pledged “zero tolerance” for sexual misconduct. The acting National Park Service chief testified to Congress in June that he’s bringing a culture of “transparency, respect, and accountability” to a workplace he acknowledged is often hostile.
But the Park Service recently gave a new job and performance bonus to national park superintendent Jorge Acevedo in Florida.
Investigators found Acevedo made unwanted advances to a woman he supervised in the following ways:
- Hugs
- Lingering handshakes
- Inappropriate comments about her appearance
- Sitting or lying on her desk while she was trying to work
Investigators said he also harassed another woman who no longer works at the park.
The Park Service issued a one-page set of talking points for media inquiries. The talking points, obtained by The Washington Post, instructed staff to praise Acevedo for making “a substantial contribution” during his four-year tenure at De Soto National Memorial, a coastal park near Bradenton.
Acevedo has served since March as partnerships manager at the Tuskegee Airmen and Tuskegee Institute national historic sites and Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, a consortium of Park Service properties. He is no longer supervising employees but kept his $82,000-a-year salary, according to an agency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel issue. Just before his transfer, the official said, he received a $1,000 cash bonus.
When interviewed by investigators, Acevedo denied the allegations and said his staff perceived his actions differently than he intended them.
The case was investigated by the inspector general’s office for the Interior Department, the Park Service’s parent agency, and detailed in a March report that was not made public. The report, as well as the talking points, were initially obtained by the environmental watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which provided them to The Post.
Acevedo, through a Park Service spokesman, declined to comment, and he did not respond to an email and message left on his cellphone.
Agency spokesman Tom Crosson declined to discuss Acevedo’s transfer, citing “ongoing personnel actions.”
Jeff Ruch, PEER’s executive director, blasted the agency’s handling of the case, saying it “perpetuates a culture of impunity.” He said by issuing the talking points, the Park Service “re-victimized the victims and implied that they were not as valuable to the agency.”
The case comes as the agency confronts a string of episodes of sexual misconduct disclosed more than a year ago by Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall’s office.
The revelations — at Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks, the Grand Canyon and Canaveral National Seashore — have led to congressional hearings and a survey prepared by the outgoing Obama administration of Interior’s 70,000 employees to gauge the extent of the problem.
A year later, the Trump administration is still dealing with sexual harassment and how to punish it, even though Zinke promised to take a hard line on ethics, warning employees in an email on his first day, “I expect us to do better.”
The administration has sent mixed signals on how aggressively it intends to address the problem.
Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said he planned to start disciplinary action this week, including suspensions and firing, against as many as a dozen employees after an inspector general investigation found six women in the park’s maintenance division were subjected to derogatory comments, verbal abuse and unequal treatment by male employees. The action was first reported by the Associated Press.
Investigators became aware of the misconduct at De Soto after the employee wrote him a detailed email in which she listed his alleged indiscretions and how they were hurtful to her, according to several people who have seen it. He then forwarded the email to his superiors, who turned the case over to the inspector general.
The woman repeatedly asked Acedevo to stop but he wouldn’t, the inspector general’s report said.
After Acedevo drove past her home, she told him when she confronted him that this was “creepy” and“stalker” behavior, according to the report.
Acevedo also violated other federal rules, including the following:
- Passing beer to volunteers in the park
- Improperly accessing gunpowder used in historical reenactments
- Staying at the home of park volunteers he later rewarded by having a parking pad built for their trailer, investigators found
He said he had exempted the park from the no-alcohol policy and denied breaking the rules on gunpowder and volunteer access to the park.
According to the report, Acevedo insisted the woman try on a button-down park shirt in his presence. She explained she knew the shirt would be too small for her and told him, but she tried it on at his insistence. Acevedo gave a different story to investigators, telling them he acted “in the context of looking for a shirt she could wear.”
Acevedo denied any inappropriate behavior toward the woman. He told investigators he attempted to physically distance himself from her after she first talked to him about his conduct.
Park Service officials said the sexual harassment survey of employees is scheduled for release by the end of summer.
