By Laurence Hammack
The Roanoke Times
ROANOKE, Va. — Their offense was the same: a sexual encounter in the workplace, which happened to be a city fire station.
He was fired from his job as a captain for the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department. She kept her job as a paramedic for the department.
And that, Dennis Croft is claiming in a lawsuit against the city, amounts to gender discrimination.
Croft — who admits he had a sexual relationship with Deborah Van Ness while off duty, but denies her allegations that they carried it out the night of April 15, 2010, in the bunkhouse of Fire Station No. 4 — was fired by the city last year. He won his job back in May (although with a demotion to first lieutenant) after a city grievance panel found that Van Ness’ allegation alone was not enough on which to base his termination.
Now, in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Croft is claiming that the city engaged in disparate discipline when it gave Van Ness a simple admonishment for the same behavior that cost him his job.
By firing Croft “while simultaneously refusing to discipline Van Ness, who alleges that she actually did commit the actions resulting in Croft’s termination, Defendant City of Roanoke has discriminated against [Croft] on the basis of his gender,” the lawsuit states.
Yet there was at least one difference, as Croft conceded: He was on duty and she was not, having just completed her shift. By Croft’s account, the two were “socializing” in the firehouse on the night in question, and the following day he told his supervisor they had violated a 10 p.m. curfew.
Croft received a verbal reprimand at the time, according to court filings, only to be fired later after Van Ness — shortly after their nasty breakup — told the fire chief that they had sex in the firehouse.
Croft denied the allegation, saying that he and Van Ness fell asleep on a couch while watching a movie.
During his grievance hearing, he argued that apart from Van Ness’ allegation, the city lacked evidence against him.
In his lawsuit, Croft is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and benefits, attorney fees, and “mental anguish, pain and suffering.” Assistant City Attorney Timothy Spencer, who has handled the case for the fire department, could not be reached Tuesday.
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