Accountability journalism ain’t quite dead yet. Azeen Ghorayshi with another great scoop on horrid behavior.
One of the employees was an administrator whom Katze had hired, at an unusually high salary, on the implicit condition that she submit to his sexual demands. He personally rewarded this woman, known as Mary Roe in some court documents, with “thousands or even tens of thousands” of dollars a year in cash and gifts, the investigation found.
The university found that Katze also sexually harassed another administrative employee, known as Jane Doe in court documents. According to the investigations, Katze asked her to clean his apartment, purchase marijuana and Percocet for him, email escorts and place personal ads for him, and “schedule his manicures, pedicures, haircuts, and hair lightening appointments.” Meanwhile, he joked about having sex with her, made sexual comments about her appearance, sent her sexually suggestive emails, and, on two occasions, tried while drunk to kiss or touch her.
The university had received at least seven previous complaints about Katze’s behavior, including claims that he was frequently intoxicated in the lab, watched porn on his university computer, belittled his employees, and retaliated against lab members who challenged him. A UW spokesperson said the school dealt with allegations against Katze, over the years, with “letters to him, admonishments, etcetera.” But his employment was never suspended or terminated.
“He Thinks He’s Untouchable.”
