Opinion ID: 811910
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Valley View Investigates Further

Text: After her meeting with McElwee, Darwin spoke with Valley View's Facility Administrator, who told her to conduct a further investigation regarding McElwee's behavior if she was considering terminating his volunteer services. On November 25, 2009, Darwin informed McElwee that she was disturbed by the situation, she was going to conduct an investigation, and he should leave Valley View and not return until he heard from her. McElwee started to cry, and said that Darwin was a conduit of God. He said that God was telling him not to do these things anymore, and was punishing him for what he had done in the past. McElwee also said that he had been conducting research at the library over the last several months to see if his -6- behavior could be considered domestic violence or sexual harassment. Darwin subsequently conducted an investigation by interviewing individuals at Valley View about McElwee's behavior. In total, five women reported that McElwee had behaved inappropriately toward them, and a security guard reported that he had seen McElwee bothering nursing students and visitors. Liz Murphy, a staff member in Valley View's payroll department, told Darwin that McElwee watched her and followed her on her breaks, and she recounted one instance when McElwee sat in the lobby and watched her while she distributed checks. Murphy told Darwin that this behavior had been going on for a few years but had increased since the previous spring. She said she gave McElwee the cold shoulder and went out of her way to avoid him. Barbara Decker, another payroll department employee, told Darwin that McElwee used to carry around a stuffed dolphin that he asked women to pet, in a manner she perceived as sexually suggestive. Decker also said that several years earlier McElwee had inquired about dating her -7- daughter, and that the way he spoke about her daughter made her uncomfortable. Pat Matero, the Director of Admissions, told Darwin that McElwee once asked her how he would look in a Speedo, and that she had observed him in the past playing up to young aides with sexual innuendo. Irene Simpson, the Activities Supervisor at Valley View, told Darwin that McElwee once said to her, [d]o you realize what I could do to you? in what she felt was a threatening way. Eric Gould, a security guard at Valley View, told Darwin that Thompson and Murphy had complained to him that McElwee's behavior made them feel uncomfortable. Gould also said he had observed McElwee leering at and acting inappropriately around female nursing students and visitors.