SANTA ANA, Calif. — Orange County has agreed to pay $925,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by a deputy district attorney who alleged she was subjected to repeated inappropriate conduct by a supervisor inside the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The settlement resolves claims filed by prosecutor Mallory Miller in Orange County Superior Court, adding to a growing list of costly legal disputes involving allegations of harassment, discrimination and retaliation within the office.
Miller’s lawsuit alleged that her supervisor, Gary LoGalbo—known among staff as “Scary Gary”—engaged in a pattern of sexually harassing behavior directed toward female prosecutors and other employees, creating what she described as a hostile and degrading workplace environment.
The agreement brings the county’s total liability in employment-related lawsuits involving the district attorney’s office to more than $8 million in recent years, according to previous reporting. Multiple additional cases remain pending.
The lawsuit detailed a series of alleged incidents involving LoGalbo that Miller said occurred over several years while she worked as a deputy district attorney. According to the complaint, LoGalbo repeatedly made sexually explicit comments about female attorneys, judges and crime victims, used vulgar and derogatory language toward women, and engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward Miller.
Miller also alleged that LoGalbo shared inappropriate videos with her, including pornographic material, and that the conduct continued even during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was among a small number of prosecutors regularly working in the office.
In one incident described in the complaint, Miller said that while she was appearing remotely in court using a webcam setup during the pandemic, LoGalbo entered the room, lifted his shirt and pressed his bare torso against a nearby window in a manner she said appeared intended to imitate scenes from “Girls Gone Wild” videos.
Miller also said LoGalbo joked that the office should create a “Pornhub” website because of the video equipment installed to accommodate remote court appearances.
The lawsuit further alleged that in a separate instance, LoGalbo asked Miller whether she and her husband had sex in her office after the couple had lunch together.
“While I’m relieved this chapter is finally closing, I’m deeply disappointed with how the County handled these cases,” Miller said in a statement following the settlement.
“This could have been resolved years ago, but instead the County chose to prolong the litigation, costing taxpayers millions while victims were forced to relive what happened to us in court,” she said.
Miller, who has worked more than a decade as a prosecutor and previously served as a gang prosecutor, said the alleged conduct crossed professional boundaries she had never encountered in her career.
“I’ve spent more than a decade as a prosecutor working closely with law enforcement, including as a gang prosecutor, and I’m not easily offended,” Miller said. “But the conduct I experienced went far beyond anything I had ever seen in my career.”
She added that, despite the lawsuit and settlement, she remains committed to public service.
“I love my job and I’m proud to serve the people of Orange County,” Miller said. “Public servants care deeply about the work we do, and we deserve to be supported and protected by the county we serve. My hope is the County will take better care of its employees, so we can focus on the important work we do for the people.”
The settlement is the latest development in a string of lawsuits and jury verdicts involving the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which has faced repeated allegations in recent years that employees who reported misconduct or discrimination were subjected to retaliation.
Previous coverage by the Vanguard documented how the county has already paid millions in damages after juries found that prosecutors were retaliated against for raising concerns about workplace conduct and office culture.
Among the most prominent cases was that of Tracy Miller, a veteran prosecutor who won a multi-million-dollar jury verdict after alleging retaliation by district attorney leadership. That verdict, reported by the Vanguard last year, became one of the largest legal judgments against the county in an employment case involving the prosecutor’s office.
Another case involved Betel Cope-Vega, a former prosecutor who also obtained a jury verdict against the county in a related workplace harassment and retaliation lawsuit.
The outcomes of those cases have drawn renewed scrutiny to the internal culture of the district attorney’s office and the county’s litigation strategy in defending such claims.
In a statement following her own verdict, Cope-Vega said she hoped the county would begin addressing the underlying problems rather than continuing prolonged legal battles.
“I am encouraged that after my trial, the County has begun taking these cases more seriously,” Cope-Vega said. “My hope is that the other women involved can now move forward without unnecessary conflict or delay. My attorneys are preparing to proceed with their motion for fees.”
Attorney D. Aaron Brock of Brock & Gonzales LLP, who represents both Miller and Cope-Vega, said Miller’s lawsuit highlighted broader concerns about workplace conduct inside a public law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing the law.
“Mallory Miller had the courage to report conduct that no employee — especially a prosecutor tasked with upholding the law — should ever have to endure,” Brock said.
The pattern of litigation has prompted questions about oversight and accountability within the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which has long been one of the most powerful prosecutorial agencies in California.
Over the past decade, the office has faced multiple controversies, including allegations of misconduct in criminal prosecutions and internal disputes over workplace practices. Several lawsuits filed by prosecutors and other staff members have alleged that those who raised concerns about inappropriate behavior were marginalized or retaliated against.
The growing number of settlements and verdicts has also raised concerns among county officials and taxpayers about the financial cost of prolonged litigation.
Legal experts note that employment lawsuits involving public agencies often involve lengthy discovery processes and jury trials that can take years to resolve. When cases are not settled early, the costs can escalate significantly as legal fees, expert testimony and damages accumulate.
Critics of the county’s approach argue that earlier intervention or internal reform could have prevented some of the litigation and reduced the financial burden on taxpayers.
Miller’s lawsuit adds to that record, bringing the county’s total payouts in recent district attorney office employment cases to more than $8 million.
The settlement agreement does not include an admission of wrongdoing by the county or the individuals named in the lawsuit, a standard provision in many civil settlements involving public agencies.
Still, the outcome underscores the continuing legal and reputational challenges facing the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Miller, who has received professional recognition during her career, including Homicide Prosecutor of the Year from the Orange County Homicide Prosecutors Association and an award from Waymakers for exemplary work for victims, has said she hopes the outcome of her case will help foster safer workplaces across county government.
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