(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/SpaceX)
One employee of SpaceX sued a manager due to alleged sexual assault. The plaintiff claimed that the manager forced her to have an affair with him and offered her money for an abortion when he impregnated her.
SpaceX Manager Sued Over Alleged Sexual Assault
Michelle Dopak filed a lawsuit against SpaceX manager Anthony Brooks. According to her, she gave in to his advances for fear that her career in the company would end if she turned him down.
However, the lawsuit claims that when Brooks showed up at Dopak's house, insisted that they have sex, and texted her that he wanted her to "make him c**," his actions got more and more forceful.
Dopak said that in June 2019, while visiting SpaceX's facility in Vandenberg, California, to see a rocket launch, she was sexually attacked by Brooks.
According to the lawsuit, Brooks insisted on driving with Dopak and allegedly "grabbed [Dopak] by the waist, pulled her against his body, and kissed her without her permission" when she pulled over to charge her vehicle.
Then, according to reports, Brooks demanded that he and Dopak drive back to the office, forcing her to take a detour via Santa Barbara along the way. While driving, Brooks allegedly revealed to her that he was married but felt "sexually frustrated and dissatisfied in his marriage."
After speaking with Dopak for two weeks, Brooks allegedly called her to tell her he was planning to have sex at her house and that he had "forced [her] to have unprotected sex with him, despite [Dopak's] objections."
According to the lawsuit, Brooks texted her indecent pictures while explicitly stating that SpaceX Vice President Andy Lambert had hired him, shielding him from any harassment charges.
Additionally, Brooks allegedly sent Dopak explicit texts such as "I'd like to bend you over the desk and c** deep inside of you," "Thinking of you always makes me horny," and "I could just f*** you over my desk," forcing her to have unprotected sex one or two times a week.
Dopak claimed that she was offered a promotion that would take effect retroactively on June 23, less than two months after the alleged affair with Brooks began. This was also shortly after the alleged harassment began.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff did not overlook the message or the date. Brooks was unmistakably telling the plaintiff that she was only given the position because she had surrendered to him.
"SpaceX and its aforementioned managers are blatantly setting Plaintiff up to fail and deliberately violating her medical accommodation work requirements in order to force Plaintiff to quit and to specifically retaliate against her not only for her medical leave of absence, but her sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation complaints," part of Dopak's lawsuit read.
Dopak is seeking unspecified damages.
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SpaceX Legal Battle
In addition to the recent lawsuit, the company was fined $3,600 for an incident in the workplace that resulted in "near amputation."
Inspectors from Washington state's Department of Labor and Industries discovered additional safety violations at the company's Redmond, Washington, facility in December during a visit prompted by worker concerns, according to state inspection records that Reuters received through an open records request. An agency spokesman stated that SpaceX still has the opportunity to appeal the decision.
Inspectors referred to the incident as a "near amputation" since a roll of material dropped and crushed a worker's foot; they reportedly determined that the factory lacked a "thorough safety program," appropriate communication of work requirements, and a system to "correct violations."
SpaceX leadership notified the state inspectors that the problem had been fixed and that it was an isolated incident.
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