Sexual harassment lawsuit against Idaho State moves forward

POCATELLO, Idaho – An eastern Idaho judge has ruled a sexual harassment lawsuit against Idaho State University can move forward.

The Idaho State Journal reports in a story on Wednesday that 6th District Court Judge Robert Naftz rejected the school’s request to kill the case.

The woman in the lawsuit filed in 2015 said that after she complained about being sexually harassed by the then Idaho Museum of Natural History Director Herb Maschner, she was given a basement office with no phone, computer or job description.

Maschner said the woman was the aggressor.

But Naftz in his ruling wrote that an investigation by the school found the woman’s claims credible and Maschner’s claims meritless.

The lawsuit trial starts Dec. 6.

Maschner left the school in 2015 to take a job at the University of South Florida.