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Heathrow guard wobbled breasts at gay colleague and asked him for sex

18 Apr 2008- London,
England- A gay airport security guard is in line for compensation after a female
colleague was found by a tribunal to have sexually harassed him by thrusting her
breasts against him and pestering him for sex.
Allwyn Rondeau 46, made it
clear to Lucy Chilton that he was homosexual and not interested in her after she
told other staff that she "wanted to shag him".
But Miss Chilton, 42,
persisted in her advances and "wobbled her breasts" all over his chest as the
pair worked at Heathrow. She also bent over a plane seat, shook her bottom at
him and said "Come on, give it to me."
Miss Chilton had denied
sexually harassing Mr Rondeau, who lives with his partner of 15 years, when the
pair worked for G4S Security Services, previously known as Group 4.
But Reading Employment
Tribunal found that Mr Rondeau, who broke down twice during his evidence, was a
" credible witness" and that his allegations had a "ring of truth".
It found that Miss Chilton
had created an "offensive environment" for him at work after hearing she had
acted in a similar way towards other men in the past.
Its judgment stated: "In
the tribunal's view she was exaggerating and embellishing her evidence.
The panel upheld Mr
Rondeau's claims of harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation against Miss
Chilton and G4S.
An employment lawyer said
that Mr Rondeau, who guarded planes, scanned luggage and frisked passengers at
Heathrow, could expect about £30,000 for personal injury. Lawrence Davies, of
Equal Justice, said: "This case demonstrates that both women and men must not
treat colleagues negatively on the grounds of their sexuality.
Mr Rondeau said he had
enjoyed his job until he met Miss Chilton at their work Christmas party in
December 2005 but now suffers from anxiety and depression and is uncomfortable
around women.
The tribunal heard that
Miss Chilton was attracted to Mr Rondeau and made his life a misery when she
found out that he was gay. He said: "My supervisor told me that she said she
fancied me. Although I had told her I was gay, soon after her behaviour towards
me changed. As she became more comfortable in my company, her behaviour became
more outrageous." Recalling an incident in a corridor, he said: "She walked
towards me and stopped and faced me while pressing her body against mine. She
wobbled her breasts against me while physically touching me and said 'You
wouldn't know what to do with a woman'. It shocked and appalled me. I do not
expect to be mocked for being gay.
Mr Rondeau, of Feltham,
said Miss Chilton also hassled him for sex as they searched a plane. He said: "I
turned around and she was bending over a chair while pointing to her posterior
and shaking her rear end in my direction. She said 'Come on, give it to me".
Miss Chilton, from Staines,
said: "I respect myself. You have to bend to take the life jacket from under the
seat."
Mr Rondeau said that he had
not wanted to complain formally about Miss Chilton to avoid highlighting his
sexuality. But after the pair had an argument, Miss Chilton reported Mr Rondeau
to bosses for inappropriate behaviour, claiming he had grabbed her from behind
and simulated sex with her.
He made a counter-claim but
was suspended in January last year until her allegations were rejected by an
internal investigation.
Mr Rondeau, who has not
returned to work since, failed in his claim that G4S and its bosses
discriminated him on the grounds of sexual orientation because only he was
suspended during the internal investigation. The panel found that the firm
followed proper procedures as it carried out the probe.
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