A former employee at the Wynn Resorts casino project in Everett filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court on Thursday, alleging she was subjected to months of unwelcome sexual conduct by a man for whom she worked.
Mary Jayne Brackett-Kelly, the wife of a Watertown police detective, said in the civil suit that Thomas Dillon Jr., who served as the project’s chief information officer, made lewd and suggestive comments, stared and leered at her, and rubbed her shoulders inappropriately until she told him angrily to stop.
Dillon’s “unwelcome sexual conduct had the purpose and effect of creating a hostile, humiliating, and offensive work environment’’ for Brackett-Kelly, according to the suit, which names five Wynn executives as defendants.
Brackett-Kelly, who work-ed as an administrative assistant, said the harassment occurred in late 2016 and early 2017. She resigned from the company in February and claimed the company did not prevent the sexual harassment from recurring.
Even after she complained, Dillon “still came to talk to her at her desk, leaning over her desk to get closer, staring at her body and leering. Whenever this happened, Ms. Brackett-Kelly says she just froze and felt like she couldn’t leave,’’ the suit alleged.
Officials at the resort, now known as Encore Boston Harbor, defended their response to her complaint, saying they acted swiftly and appropriately. They also reported Brackett-Kelly’s complaint to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which said it is investigating her allegations as part of a broader probe into the company’s handling of misconduct accusations against Steve Wynn, the former CEO.
Wynn officials said Dillon told them he touched Brackett-Kelly’s shoulders while looking over her at a computer screen and that he immediately removed his hands when she objected.
In addition to giving Dillon a written warning and curtailing his interaction with Brackett-Kelly, Wynn officials fired Dillon in July, shortly after the firm received a separate complaint about his behavior from another female employee.
On Thursday, Wynn officials raised questions about the suit’s timing and motivation.
“A complaint of inappropriate joking and behavior in the workplace was filed by an employee more than a year ago, resulting in a thorough internal investigation and review by an independent law firm,’’ said Greg John, spokesman for Encore Boston Harbor.
“The issue was handled professionally, and decisively, to the complete satisfaction of the person who filed the complaint. With no further complaint or mention of the incident, the employee has demanded a payment of $5 million in exchange for not ‘going to the press,’ ’’ John said.
Brackett-Kelly’s demand, casino officials said, closely followed news reports that Steve Wynn had paid $7.5 million in 2005 to settle a claim brought by a former employee.
Casino officials said Brackett-Kelly tried to extort money from them the day after she resigned in February. According to documents filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, one executive recounted that Brackett-Kelly had threatened to “get even’’ with the company following a dispute over a bonus.
But what John described as “inappropriate joking’’ struck Brackett-Kelly far differently, the suit states.
Brackett-Kelly recounted how Dillon, who had opened the Wynn Palace in Macau, placed himself spread-eagle against a wall and asked if she wanted to frisk him. He also became irritated, she said, when she resisted his attempts to meet him for breakfast. “I’m not used to being turned down,’’ Dillon said, according to the lawsuit. “I’m not used to women saying no to me.’’
According to the company, Dillon said he did not recall the “frisk me’’ comment.
Brackett-Kelly and the second woman who reported Dillon’s behavior have each filed complaints with the antidiscrimination commission.
In Brackett-Kelly’s lawsuit, she said Dillon had left the office with the second woman for a coffee and then became irate when she did not allow him to pick up the bill.
The woman fled the shop, which was recorded on surveillance camera, the suit said. Wynn officials have described Brackett-Kelly’s version of the exchange as “factually inaccurate to patently false.’’
MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@globe.com.
