Both women also seek damages from the state child welfare agency because it lacked mandatory anti-sexual harassment training programs and policies, according to the complaints.
Terrified that her boss would not stop making sexually suggestive comments and stalking her, a state child welfare employee asked her supervisor to intervene, according to a lawsuit.
Instead, Evelyn Nieves-Lalama said her supervisor refused to help and told her to "pray," according to the employee's lawsuit against the state.
Reinaldo Gibbs, 60, of Matawan, a former manager at the Paterson office for the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, is the target of two sexual harassment lawsuits which are expected to go to trial separately in late February or March, attorneys said.
But Nieves-Lalama of Clifton and Latrece Hagans of Paterson also are suing supervisors and other managers they claim did nothing to stop Gibbs predatory behavior, and at times covered it up, the lawsuits filed in state Superior Court in Passaic County said.
Gibbs' Attorney Cedric Ashley predicted that his client would be exonerated.
"When these two complaints are fully vetted, they will be deemed meritless," Ashley said. "The facts will bear out neither situation was anything remotely related to discrimination or harassment."
The state hired Gibbs in 2013 and terminated him in 2015, according to Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Leida Arce said. Ashley declined to disclose the circumstances of Gibbs' dismissal.
Gibbs is an adjunct professor in the Social Science Department at Middlesex County College in Edison, a college official confirmed. He previously worked for the New York City Administration for Children's Services, according to his LinkedIn profile page. He is also an elder at New Brunswick Seventh Day Adventist Church, according to its website.
Gibbs did not return calls seeking comment and no one answered the door at his house on two occasions.
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Evelyn Nieves-Lalama, a family service specialist and a state child welfare employee since 1999, has been on unpaid medical leave since 2016 related to her anxiety over the harassment, her attorney Stephen Bosin told NJ Advance Media.
"She made repeated requests for help from her supervisor and no action was taken. She was told to pray," Bosin said. "It created more of a sense of dread and helplessness."
Nieves-LaLama worked with Gibbs from June 2013 to April 2014 when she was forced to take another job in the Paramus office, the complaint said.
During that time, Gibbs repeatedly touched Nieves-Lalama's face, arms and buttocks, made inappropriate comments, such as "You smell delicious" and "I want you," and fondled his penis outside of his clothes when others were not looking, according to the complaint.
Nieves-Lalama took her concerns to her direct supervisor, Kim Drayton, who never documented or investigated the complaints, the lawsuit said. Drayton recommended staying away from Gibbs and "to pray." When Nieves-Lalama said she did not feel comfortable around him. Drayton replied: "Pray hard," the lawsuit said.
Gibbs later allegedly retaliated by accusing Nieves-Lalama of kissing him and touching him. Paul Pintella, the division's Equal Opportunity Office official named in the lawsuit, interviewed her in response to his complaint. She explained how he had inappropriately touched her, and made crude gestures and remarks.
Shortly after their meeting, she saw Gibbs and Pintella having lunch together -- providing evidence Pintella would not take her concerns seriously, the lawsuit said.
At about the same time Nieves-Lalama alleged Gibbs was harassing her, Hagans was also a target of Gibbs unwanted attention, according to the lawsuit.
In August 2013, Gibbs began making sexually suggestive comments and texting photos of his penis and lewd messages. The following month, according to the lawsuit, Gibbs asked for a hug after a private meeting. When she got up to leave the room, he grabbed her breasts, lifted up her skirt and exposed his penis as she tried to fight him off. A janitor entered the room, and she left, the lawsuit said.
Gibbs "threatened" Hagans "not to mention any of the sexual advances," the complaint said. She was fired on Feb. 10, 2015, the lawsuit said.
Hagans and Nieves-Lalama also seek damages from the state child welfare agency because it lacked mandatory anti-sexual harassment training programs and policies, according to the complaints.
The state Attorney General's Office is providing legal representation for the supervisors and managers named in the complaints, but not for Gibbs, who is no longer a state employee, office spokesman Leland Moore said. Moore declined to comment on the cases.
In court records, the state denied the allegations. In a response to Hagans' lawsuit, the Attorney General's Office noted: "(The) plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage of available preventative or corrective opportunities" and the state agency "is not liable for the willful misconduct of their employees."
Ashley, Gibbs attorney, noted that Hagans "never made a claim about anything until after she was terminated."
Correction: An earlier version of this story said Hagans also sued her supervisors, Kim Drayton and Bertha Carthins, but they were dropped from the case Thursday, according to court records.
NJ Advance Media researcher Vinessa Erminio contributed to this report.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.