Lawsuit Filed Against 'Lipstick Bandit

Co-Workers Claim Woman Got Frisky During Office Hours

Three workers in a New York City welfare office are suing, claiming the city failed to protect them from sexual harassment.

The lawsuit claims office manager Serena Reaves-Cain harassed three female workers under her supervision. CBS 2 News has learned this isn't the first time Reaves-Cain has been accused of inappropriate behavior.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, claims co-workers gave Reaves-Cain the nickname "Lipstick Bandit" because she allegedly "kissed them on the cheeks, foreheads, and necks, and sometimes left red lipstick marks on them."

The plaintiffs, Constance Trotman, Anitra Kincy and Clara Luz Badia, claimed Reaves-Cain "hugged the plaintiffs and pushed her breasts up against their breasts, and used the palm of her hand to spank them on the buttocks."

The women also claim Reaves-Cain referred to the spankings as "pow-pows," and sometimes told them "come to momma" before hugging, touching or spanking them.

The lawsuit seeks damages, claiming the city was negligent in employing Reaves-Cain, and ignored previous complaints about her.

One of the complaints came in 2004, when Reaves-Cain supervised a welfare office in Manhattan. A co-worker in that office told CBS 2 she asked for a transfer because she felt harassed by Reaves-Cain.

"She would come by my desk and pull my hair," the female co-worker said. "Sometimes she would grab my cheeks, pinch my cheeks. It was a constant, touchy-touchy, tell me how beautiful I was. It made me very uncomfortable."

The former co-worker said she and Reaves-Cain started out as friends, and frequently ate lunch and took breaks together. Reaves-Cain is married and has children, according to the former co-worker.

The co-worker said she filed a complaint against Reaves-Cain with the city's Human Resources Administration, and is contemplating a lawsuit.

An associate professor at Pace University School of Law said the previous complaint could help the three women who filed suit.

"It strengthens their case that the employer was remiss in keeping this person as a supervisor," Darren Rosenblum said.

A spokeswoman for the city law department said the lawsuit was under review. A government source told CBS 2 News Reaves-Cain is still employed by the city but has transferred from the Bronx to another office.

Efforts to contact Reaves-Cain at her mother's home in Yonkers were not successful.