A former employee of the King County juvenile jail Echo Glen, located in Snoqualmie, has filed a lawsuit in King County Superior court against against the Department of Social and Health Services—which operates the facility—claiming she was sexually harassed by the jail's head of security and retaliated against when she complained.

According to court documents filed on December 31st, after the woman began working at Echo Glen in May 2007, the jail's head of security told the woman—who is 6'4 and 200 pounds—he wanted to hire more women in the security department and attempted to befriend the woman.

The woman, now living in California, is a former UW basketball player and was also briefly with the Seattle Storm, but was cut during the preseason in 2004. The head of security is a former Washington State University linebacker.

The lawsuit says the security chief attempted to bond with the woman over their sports backgrounds and, the lawsuit says, began asking her questions like "Are you good at giving head?" "What position do you like?" and "How many men have you been with?" At one point, the suit alleges, the security chief grabbed the woman and asked her to turn around and show him if she was wearing a thong.

Later, the woman alleges, she applied for a position in the security department and was asked in a "sexually aggressive tone" what the job was "worth to [her}."

The woman says she complained to supervisors about the security chief's behavior but that there was a "fraternity environment" in the security department and that male security officers "made sexual comments about female employees, with no...repercussions." The woman also claims that after she complained about the harassment, the security position she'd applied for was closed in retailiation.

In November 2007, the jail began an investigation into the woman's complaints and in June 2008, the security chief was fired.

The woman is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional distress.