A former Santa Clara County correctional officer who now serves as president of the NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley branch is suing the county and its officials after a personnel board upheld findings that he engaged in sexual harassment and intimidation of a female co-worker. Sean Allen, who was fired from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in 2023 following a lengthy investigation, claims he was the victim of bias and retaliation and is seeking to overturn the decision that ended his law enforcement career.

The controversy centers on allegations first lodged in 2020, when a female employee accused Allen of repeatedly making unwanted comments about her appearance, staring at her inappropriately, and creating an intimidating environment at work. According to county records, the incidents allegedly occurred between 2016 and 2018 while Allen served as a supervisor in the county’s correctional system. The woman told investigators that Allen once told her he was “always watching” her and claimed he could see her through cameras at work, a statement she said made her feel deeply unsafe.

After a multi-year internal investigation, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office recommended Allen’s termination in early 2021. The decision became official in April 2023. Allen appealed the firing to the county’s personnel board — a body of retired county employees responsible for reviewing disciplinary cases. Following four days of hearings in June 2024, the board unanimously voted to uphold the dismissal, finding the harassment allegations credible.

Nine witnesses testified during the proceedings, describing the accuser’s visible distress in the workplace and her efforts to avoid Allen. According to testimony, she began wearing baggier clothing to conceal her figure and showed signs of anxiety as a result of the alleged harassment. The board concluded that Allen’s conduct had a negative impact on her job performance and emotional well-being.

Allen has consistently denied the allegations, calling the investigation and hearing process unfair. He argued that he was not given sufficient time to call witnesses or present evidence in his defense. “It was a kangaroo court,” Allen said, claiming that the county’s case was given three full days of presentation time, while he was allotted only three hours. “Most of my witnesses were at work and couldn’t be excused to testify,” he added.

On November 14, 2024, Allen filed a lawsuit against Santa Clara County, the personnel board, and the sheriff’s office, alleging procedural bias and retaliation. He filed an additional motion on October 15 of this year, seeking to overturn the board’s decision. Representatives for the county and sheriff’s office declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Allen maintains that the disciplinary action was a form of retaliation for his whistleblower activities. He claims he faced retribution after publicly exposing misconduct within the sheriff’s department, including abuses in the jail system and the death of inmate Michael Tyree in 2015, which drew widespread scrutiny. Allen also said he reported a cadet training death and filed multiple complaints to county whistleblower hotlines, alleging both racial harassment and improper promotional practices under then-Sheriff Laurie Smith. Smith, who has since left the department, did not respond to requests for comment.

Assistant Sheriff David Sepulveda, who signed the termination letter before retiring in 2023, wrote that the investigation found multiple instances of misconduct. He concluded that while witnesses did not directly observe every alleged incident, their testimony corroborated the accuser’s emotional distress and efforts to avoid Allen. “This harassment caused her to be so uncomfortable that she avoided working in areas you were assigned,” Sepulveda wrote, noting that this affected her work performance.

Sepulveda’s letter also stated that Allen made false statements during the inquiry when he claimed to be unaware of other complaints filed against him. Records reviewed by the county reportedly showed three additional misconduct allegations filed in 2020.

Allen has disputed Sepulveda’s findings and has accused him of personal bias, saying he filed a separate whistleblower complaint against Sepulveda in 2021. He insists that the harassment allegations were fabricated by colleagues who sought to damage his career and reputation.

As the legal battle continues, the case highlights tensions between accountability in public institutions and claims of retaliatory discipline. For now, Sean Allen remains both a controversial figure and a visible leader in Silicon Valley’s civil rights community — one fighting to clear his name while defending what he describes as a history of standing up against institutional wrongdoing.