SAN DIEGO - A unanimous jury Wednesday found former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner did not intentionally touch a city employee's breast or buttocks, and awarded the woman no damages.
The jury was tasked to decide if Filner committed sexual battery and harassment and if damages should be awarded to city parks employee Stacy McKenzie. They deliberated for only two hours before finding Filner did not touch McKenzie on the breast or buttocks at an April 2013 event where she claimed Filner asked her on a date, put her in the now-famous "Filner headlock" and grazed her intimately.
On the flip side, the jury did find McKenzie was subjected to unwanted harassment by Filner because she was a woman. The jury of eight men and four women, however, was split 10-2 over whether the harassment was severe.
Filner waived his appearance and was not present at the verdict reading.
McKenzie's attorney Manuel Corrales told reporters that an interview with his client used as evidence during the trial made it unclear whether McKenzie was really touched by Filner. A coworker of McKenzie's testified she did see Filner touch her on the breast, Corrales said.
Because the incident occurred once, the jury found it did not rose to the level of pervasiveness needed to award damages, Corrales said.
He also noted Filner's absence, saying, "I think he thought the jury would find something against him and they did."
San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith told reporters when sexual harassment allegations against Filner started stacking up more than two years ago, the city made a commitment to review each case individually and settled those cases where they felt there was evidence of harassment.
Goldsmith called out McKenzie's attorney Dan Gilleon - who is litigating the final two lawsuits against Filner and the city - for what she called a lack of evidence of harassment.
"I would hope that Dan Gilleon would see to it that the other case should be dismissed. The reason we didn't pay is because we didn't agree with that," Goldsmith said.
The lone remaining lawsuit was filed by Marilyn McGaughy and is set to go to trial this May, according to the City Attorney's Office.
Deputy City Attorney George Schaefer said he thought McKenzie's Facebook page, shown during the trial, was "compelling evidence because it showed that the plaintiff was not severely traumatized by what happened."
Closing arguments were heated Wednesday morning ahead of the verdict, as key facts were disputed including whether Filner actually touched McKenzie's breasts and buttocks - a major point of contention brought up by lawyers representing both parties.
Gilleon was soft-spoken when he delivered a harsh opening statement to the jury.
"This case is about abuse of power by an arrogant man who turned out to be nothing more than a felon," Gilleon said.
It didn't matter that McKenzie wasn't on the clock the day she encountered Filner, Gilleon insisted. She was still in her work environment and went to the park event that day in that capacity.
When that "creepy stranger" leered and grabbed McKenzie's wrist and later laughed at her for turning red with embarrassment, Gilleon noted, Filner "was the most important employee in the city of San Diego."
Gilleon told the jury Filner intended to make offensive contact with McKenzie while in front of her coworkers.