According to Associated Press, the state of California filed lawsuit against CBS, Disney, and producers of the crime show Criminal Minds on the grounds that the show’s cinematographer, Gregory St. Johns (Dante’s Peak), allegedly took part in sexual misconduct against members of the crew for years. The encounters were said to have begun in 2011.
Within his 14 years of working for Disney and the ABC-CBS joint production of the long-running series, St. Johns was accused of “engaging in sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation against persons working on the set of the show, including without limitation, production crew members,” via Deadline.
The filing from the state agency in Los Angeles Superior Court against the accused St. Johns further states that this unlawful conduct was allegedly known and protected by the production team for years, via Deadline. The filing read, “Defendants’ executive team not only had actual and constructive knowledge of St. Johns’ abusive conduct, they condoned it. No necessary steps to prevent sex-based harassment and discrimination were taken over the years, nor were appropriate corrective actions.”
In response to the allegations and lawsuit against St. Johns and the ensuing lawsuit against him and the studio, an ABC Studios spokesperson told Deadline that “The Company works hard to maintain a work environment free from discrimination, harassment, or retaliation…We cooperated with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing during its investigation, and we regret that we were unable to reach a reasonable resolution with the Department. We now in tend to defend the asserted claims vigorously.”
St. Johns was since fired from the Criminal Minds production team. Meanwhile, the series wrapped its final season in February, 6 months after camera operator Todd Durboraw sued ABC Studios for St. Johns’ alleged misconduct.