A woman who once lived and worked at Cesar Chavez's famed La Paz compound has sued two nonprofits linked to him, alleging that he raped her there in the early 1970s and that the groups helped enable and conceal abuse. Filed in Kern County, California, the suit names the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the UFW Foundation, accusing them of negligence, violations of state civil rights law, and allowing what it calls a pattern of sexual misconduct by the late labor leader, the New York Times reports. The 86-year-old plaintiff says that the assault occurred around her birthday in 1973 and that she later felt pressured into additional sexual contact.
The case is the first lawsuit to follow a Times investigation that detailed multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Chavez, including rape accusations by union co-founder Dolores Huerta and claims from women who say they were abused as minors. California's expanded statute of limitations for civil sexual assault cases allows decades-old incidents to be brought to court and lets victims sue institutions they maintain knew or should have known about abuse. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial. "This has been a long time coming for her to take this step," V. James DeSimone, a lawyer representing her pro bono, told the AP, adding: "She suffered a lot over the years. It continues to cause her stress and anxiety."
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