The worker says Cedar Point fired her for reporting sexual harassment

TALEDA, Ohio – Cedar Point has always been a magical place for Brittany Dunlap.

“I love my roller coaster,” she said.

In 2013, as a teenager, she started working in the park. She returned in 2016, 2021 and 2022.

“I love the park. I liked working there, ”she said.

Earlier this month, the tale turned into a nightmare when she was fired. And she said the dismissal was due to the fact that she reported sexual harassment to one of the park’s team leaders.

“One day my roommate and I were returning to my room and he followed us. He moved into our room, ”she said. “We kept telling him to leave, and he kept asking us different sexual questions. We have told him many times that he must leave. The only way we could get him out of the room was to threaten to spray him with a mace and call security. “

Dunlap did not have a phone number for her roommate, but 11 Investigates interviewed another Cedar Point employee who said she was also harassed by the team leader. Dunlap was able to provide several items to test her work at Cedar Point.

She said the harassment was not over. This continued the next day when she met him in the next building.

“He drove me into a corner in the conference room. I don’t know what his plan was, but I just know it made me feel very uncomfortable. He asked me sexual questions, and then another employee came in and he came out, ”she said.

Earlier this month, 11 investigators conducted an investigation on allegations of sexual assault in Cedar Point housing. Since 2017, the Sandusky Police Department has received 27 reports. Cedar Point Police declined to say whether there were additional reports of the incidents. The department argued in a previous lawsuit that it is a private force not covered by state laws on state documents.

on the topic: Victims of sexual violence in Cedar Point are seeking justice

Dunlap said she reported the meeting to a Cedar Point security guard who informed Cedar Point Police Sergeant. Dunlap said the sergeant told her the man was accused of similar incidents last year and he told her story to the staff. She said she was summoned to the personnel department the day after the shift ended.

And she had a completely different experience than she expected.

She was unable to identify the manager involved, but Dunlap said she was told that the team leader’s behavior was “inadequate, sexual harassment, and that the behavior was inappropriate.”

But then the manager fired her and allowed the team leader to continue working, Dunlap said. To add to her confusion, the manager praised her worklist, Dunlap said. She believes the dismissal was due to her complaint.

WTOL sent Dunlap’s statements to Cedar Point. We also indicated the name of the team leader and asked for comment. There was no response to the letter.

11 Investigators made six attempts to contact the team leader by phone, but each attempt resulted in an audible message: “The wireless client you are trying to contact is unavailable. Please try again later. “

Dunlap is still a roller coaster fan, but her view has deteriorated with park management. She hired a lawyer, believing that the lawsuit was the only way to get the park’s attention.

“It seems to me that HR doesn’t care about allies. In our training session, they talk about sexual harassment or sexual harassment, and they tell you that if you feel that you are being sexually harassed or sexually abused, you can contact the human resources department or your manager, ”she said. “They said HR is always there, ready to help you, and it just makes me feel like it’s not really the case. They are trying to protect these guys. “