SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The woman who accused former county supervisor Nathan Fletcher of sexual harassment was denied a restraining order Tuesday that she was seeking against Fletcher's wife, Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher.
Grecia Figueroa, a former MTS public relations specialist who sued Fletcher for sexual harassment in 2023, alleged that since filing her lawsuit, she has faced online harassment from Gonzalez Fletcher, which has incited Gonzalez Fletcher's social media followers against her and has her fearing for her safety.
During a Tuesday morning court hearing on her restraining order request, Figueroa told a judge that someone showed up at her home unannounced while wielding a wrench and that on another occasion, someone slashed her car's tires. Upon questioning from the judge, she could not say whether Gonzalez Fletcher was involved in those incidents, but said Gonzalez Fletcher's public statements towards her may have influenced other people to "take matters into their own hands."
Figueroa told the judge, "I don't feel safe and I just want to live in peace and be able to heal. There is no reason for her to being going after me the way she does."
Superior Court Judge Blair Soper previously denied Figueroa's request for a temporary restraining order by finding Figueroa's allegations did not sufficiently show that she was facing violence or threats.
Soper denied the permanent restraining order request on Tuesday on largely the same grounds by stating that he didn't find any evidence of violence or credible threats of violence from Gonzalez Fletcher. He also said the comments Gonzalez Fletcher made online were related to the litigation between Figueroa and her husband and didn't rise to the level of harassment.
In a statement released after the hearing, Gonzalez Fletcher called the restraining order request "another attempt by Ms. Figueroa to inflict harm upon me and my family by wielding egregiously false allegations in court filings designed to drive press attention to herself."
Figueroa's lawsuit against Fletcher was dismissed earlier this year after a judge ruled Figueroa had deleted or failed to turn over evidence to the defense. Fletcher's attorneys argued that evidence included Figueroa's text messages that would have supported their contentions that any intimate interactions between Fletcher and Figueroa were consensual.
Figueroa is appealing that decision. She also faces a defamation countersuit from Fletcher, who gave up a state Senate bid and resigned from the county Board of Supervisors and MTS Board after Figueroa's lawsuit was filed. The defamation case is set to go to trial next year.
