Scribd
Upload
14K views14 pages

Investigation Record

The Utah County Attorney's office conducted an internal investigation into a sexual harassment complaint filed against an elected official in the Utah County Clerk/Auditor's office. The investigation was handled internally instead of externally due to cost considerations and because the facts were not in dispute. However, the investigation was accelerated and its independence was ensured when the subject of the complaint expressed interest in another elected position. The County Attorney was ultimately satisfied with the independent and thorough investigation conducted by his office.

Uploaded by

McKenzie Stauffer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
14K views14 pages

Investigation Record

The Utah County Attorney's office conducted an internal investigation into a sexual harassment complaint filed against an elected official in the Utah County Clerk/Auditor's office. The investigation was handled internally instead of externally due to cost considerations and because the facts were not in dispute. However, the investigation was accelerated and its independence was ensured when the subject of the complaint expressed interest in another elected position. The County Attorney was ultimately satisfied with the independent and thorough investigation conducted by his office.

Uploaded by

McKenzie Stauffer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 14

Utah County Attorney

David O. Leavitt, Utah County Attorney 100 East Center Street, Suite 2100
Loren E. Weiss, Chief Deputy Provo, Utah 84606
Chad E. Grunander, Criminal Division Chief p: 801.851.8026
Sandi Johnson, Community Division Chief f: 801.851.8051
David H. Shawcroft, Civil Division Chief
Dale Eyre, Screening Division Chief
Patty Johnston, Bureau of Investigations Chief

April 2, 2021

Mr. Ralf Barnes


Director, Human Resources
100 E. Center Street
Provo, Utah 84606

Re: Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Investigation

Dear Mr. Barnes:

Please find herewith the investigative report requested by your department on December 9,
2020. This cover letter is intended to supplement the attached report.

You received a complaint from an employee in the Utah County Clerk/Auditor’s Office alleging
sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Utah County’s policies and procedures
require that you conduct an initial review of the complaint to determine whether the
complaint, if true, would constitute a “minor” violation or a “more serious” violation. If the
initial review determines that the violation is “minor,” you have authority to handle appropriate
discipline stemming from the violation. However, if the review determines that the violation is
“more serious,” county policy requires that the human resources director or the county
attorney conduct an investigation into the violation.

In this matter, we agreed that the investigation would be handled by this office, or by my
designee. The decision before me was whether to conduct the investigation internally or
externally. I took a few days to determine the best course of action. Based on your initial
review and because the purpose of an investigation is to ascertain the truth to allegations, I
concluded that an internal investigation would be preferable and that the facts at that point
were not in dispute. The approximate cost of $8,000-$10,000 for an external investigation
seemed an unnecessary taxpayer expense. Accordingly, I decided to turn the matter over to my
investigation bureau.
Upon making the decision to investigate the complaint internally, I met with the Utah County
Clerk/Auditor and her Chief Deputy. I told them that the Human Resources Department had
determined that the complaint, if true, constituted a “more serious” violation, and that as such
my office would be conducting an investigation.

I did not immediately assign the investigation to an investigator given 1) the workload of my
investigation bureau, 2) the fact that the victim of the harassment was no longer employed by
Utah County, and 3) that apart from a censure from the Utah County Commission, there was no
discipline that could be imposed because the subject of the complaint was an elected official.

The urgency to complete the investigation accelerated when Amelia Powers Gardner, the
elected Utah County Clerk/Auditor voiced an intention to run for a vacancy on the Utah County
Commission. An uncompleted internal investigation into the conduct of a fellow elected official
would diminish public trust in the independence and thoroughness of the investigation.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety or politicization of the investigation, I assigned my


investigations bureau the task of completing the investigation independent of input from me,
the Utah County Attorney. I could not have seen the additional complication of Tanner Ainge’s
resignation resulting in Amelia Powers Gardner’s interest in seeking that position. Had I crystal
ball, I would have taken the additional step of committing county resources to pay for an
external investigation.

Having said that and having given my investigations bureau complete autonomy in this matter, I
am satisfied with both the quality and the independence of the investigation.

This concludes my involvement in the matter.

Kindest Regards,

David O. Leavitt
Utah County Attorney

You might also like