WILSON COUNTY, Texas – Wilson County agreed this summer to pay a former sheriff’s deputy $200,000 to settle a federal sex discrimination complaint filed after she accused her supervisor of unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate contact while they were both on duty.
But records obtained by KSAT Investigates show ex-deputy Irene Hernandez was far from the only woman to raise concerns about the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office.
Six female employees ultimately came forward with complaints about several high-ranking members of the sheriff’s office, according to a July 2024 statement of position authored by then-Wilson County Attorney Tom Caldwell and submitted to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A separate investigation conducted by Caldwell the previous year concluded allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior within WCSO were “founded.”
The findings came months before Sheriff Jim Stewart publicly denied there were sex discrimination issues within his ranks and said Caldwell had failed to provide him with evidence on which he could act.
Former deputy says problems began shortly after she was hired
Hernandez, who told KSAT the settlement agreement prevents her from discussing the payout amount, spent about two and a half years working as a Wilson County sheriff’s deputy before resigning in early 2024.
She told KSAT Investigates her tenure was one of the most difficult periods of her life.
“I listened to a lot of sex talk, I listened to a lot of the investigators talk about women in derogatory ways,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez said some of her most serious concerns involved her then-supervisor, Sgt. Richard Nichols.
Records show Hernandez reported Nichols to a lieutenant in June 2022, describing inappropriate contact and unwanted sexual advances made by Nichols while they were on duty.
Hernandez said her confidential allegations were later leaked within the agency, and that other deputies stopped providing backup to her on calls after she made the complaint.
Nichols left the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office in July 2022.
He was then hired by the La Vernia Police Department in May 2023, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records show.
In June 2023, Hernandez took ongoing concerns about her work environment outside the sheriff’s office and reported them to Caldwell, who began his own investigation, records show.
County investigation finds allegations ‘founded’
Caldwell’s investigation expanded beyond Hernandez, records show.
His October 2023 report found other female employees had also raised concerns about conduct within the sheriff’s office.
“The allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior are FOUNDED,” Caldwell wrote in his findings.
The report also concluded the “perpetrators” had never been told within the department that their behavior was inappropriate or that it needed to stop.
Caldwell provided the report to Stewart, the Wilson County Judge and members of its commissioners court, according to records.
Despite the report’s findings, Stewart publicly pushed back against allegations of sex discrimination within his ranks during a January 2024 public forum.
“In the last seven months he has failed to bring any actionable evidence to me, for me to act on,” Stewart said of Caldwell. “He has not brought anything. He has not had any luck with that. And I beg him, if he has it, I’ve told him from day one, ‘you bring it to me, because I have never failed to fix anything that I found to be wrong.’”
Those comments came more than two months after Caldwell provided Stewart with the report.
Hernandez resigned from the sheriff’s office days after Stewart’s public comments.
“Why are you so afraid of this information getting out?” said Hernandez.
Six women came forward
Hernandez, who told KSAT she was unfamiliar with the EEOC when she was hired by the sheriff’s office, made the decision to pursue a federal discrimination complaint.
In a July 2024 statement of position submitted in response to the complaint, Caldwell acknowledged the scope of the allegations went beyond Hernandez.
Hernandez was one of six female employees who had complained about several high-ranking members of the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, records show.
Hernandez and the county reached a settlement this summer.
The settlement includes $37,600 for lost wages and $162,400 in damages, the agreement shows.
As part of the settlement, the county also agreed to create a policy prohibiting sex discrimination and retaliation in the workplace and provide training on sex discrimination and retaliation.
Hernandez said the settlement does not erase what she experienced.
“It was never about the money,” Hernandez said. “Do I feel justified? No, I don’t think I ever will.”
KSAT Investigates reached out to Stewart for comment. The sheriff said via email the terms of the settlement prevent him from discussing it.
Wilson County Judge Henry Whitman did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.
Nichols did not respond to a request for comment sent to his chief of police in La Vernia.
La Vernia’s chief told KSAT Investigates via email he had no information about the EEOC complaint regarding Nichols’ previous employment.
Sheriff ordered woman to stop recording during July commissioners court meeting
The settlement came into public view following an unusual encounter involving Stewart.
During a Wilson County Commissioners Court meeting in July, footage showed Stewart checking his phone, getting up from his seat and approaching a woman sitting in the back of the room.
The woman was recording as Stewart told her to stop.
“You can have the video on request, but you don’t take your own,” Stewart told her.
“I can’t?” the woman responded.
“No ma’am,” Stewart said.
The exchange at the public meeting occurred as commissioners had reached an agenda item that included a scheduled discussion of the EEOC claim.
