Berkeley – We know it has been a long time since we’ve written. A lot is happening at Pacifica Radio, and a lot is also happening in our own lives, which has made the labor involved in following Pacifica happenings so closely less viable. But we will keep the option open when there is significant news that otherwise would not be distributed. Before we begin, a few disclaimers. All of the information provided here is drawn from public court filings in the Alameda Superior Court. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty and allegations are just allegations until proven. However, we find it unconscionable that several members of KPFA’s Local Station Board were not aware of this lawsuit’s existence until last week. Board members should not have to monitor court records to discover litigation against their organization. And some of the issues regarding station response are significant whether the allegations are true, false or some of both. 

Elected members of KPFA’s local station board were startled last week to discover that a lawsuit against KPFA and Pacifica had been pending since May of 2022 with no notification to them. The plaintiff is Francisco Torres De La Rosa, who described himself as a 54 year old man who is married with two children and has limited English fluency. Mr. Torres De La Rosa was employed as a maintenance worker at KPFA in Berkeley from 2015 to 2021. De La Rosa alleges that beginning in 2019, news co-director and 41 year KPFA employee Mark Mericle “repeatedly and forcibly grabbed his buttocks and laughed at him when he recoiled and expressed distress, followed him to the bathroom and blocked him inside of it, and stared and leered at him in a harassing way”. Torres De La Rosa alleges he complained to his female supervisor, who is unnamed in the complaint, but seems likely to be business manager Maria Negret, and the response he received was “Well, he’s gay”. Torres De La Rosa then alleges he elevated his complaint to the “general director”, who is unnamed in the complaint, but seems likely to be general manager Quincy McCoy, and was told he “had to get along with everybody”. When Torres De La Rosa alleges he pushed the complaint about sexual assault to Pacifica Human Resources (again unnamed in the complaint), there was no remedial action taken.