MADERA - A lawsuit has been filed against the Madera County Sheriff's Department claiming they fostered a hostile work environment, retaliation, religious discrimination, harassment and failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation. This charge is being leveled by the Sacramento law firm, The Bohm Law Group. The complaint stems from seven years of alleged harassment Deputy Ian Roth faced from a sergeant in the department.

According to court documents, the sergeant (who's name we will not release in this story) began his harassment of Roth when the deputy was assigned to the courtroom of Judge Jennifer Detjen in the Madera County Superior Court as a bailiff.

During this time the judge and bailiff ran and worked out together outside the courtroom. At a local gym the accused sergeant began asking Roth "how the judge was in bed" and started a rumor around the department that the deputy and judge were more than just colleagues. Two years later Roth was reassigned to the streets and found this same sergeant was his FTO (Field Training Officer).

It was during this time that the sergeant learned that Madera County Deputy Sheriff Ian Roth was Jewish. According to Roth's complaint, the sergeant would taunt the deputy with statements like "This is a Christian Company", "Jews killed Jesus" and "Wouldn't it be funny if Roth wore his Yamaka? He'd be a typical Jew. Short, fat with squiggly hair down his face." Anti-Semitic photos and signs were also allowed to hang in the department. The Star of David was placed on a Christmas stocking.

During a dinner break in December of 2007 Roth states that the sergeant threatened him with assault while eating at the Juan Pollo Restaurant on Avenue 17 in Madera. The sergeant was still Roth's FTO at this time. The confrontation included the following exchange.  "Do you have a problem with me? Do you have a problem with the way I supervise? Lets take this outside and handle it like men", Roth told his attorneys.

In 2009 when the sergeant learned that Roth's expecting wife was having a baby girl, Roth states that the sergeant told him, "My boys are going to run your little girl through in the back of my car and you're going to find your daughter's foot prints on the inside glass of the car."

According to the court records the sergeant would put his genitals through the small hole of a Scotch tape dispenser and ask the deputy if he needed any tape. Roth said the sergeant would attempt to shove the dispenser and his genitals into the face of the deputy. The sergeant would retell this story for several years at the expense of Deputy Roth.

Big Valley News reached out to others in law enforcement for comment and none would go on the record. One however did say, "He always does that. I think everyone that has ever worked with him has seen his penis. Doesn't surprise me."

For seven years Roth filed complaints with his superiors and Madera County Human Resources. For seven years nothing was done to give Deputy Roth relief from this work-place harassment After the sergeant slapped Roth following a confrontation at the Madera County Sheriff's office, the sergeant was demoted back to deputy, but because of errors in the investigation and handling of the demotion, it were over-turned later by the Madera County Civil Service Commission.

In December of 2013 Roth found an advocate in attorney Lawrance Bohm. The Sacramento attorney specializes in employment law with offices in Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles. In February of 2012 Mr. Bohm's firm obtained a verdict of $167,730,488.00 which is believed to be the largest single-plaintiff employment verdict in United States history.

The case is now in the discovery phase but should go to court by the end of the summer. Big Valley News will be following this story with updates as news breaks.

Click here to read the Madera County Superior Court documents.