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Three years after an alleged sexual assault at the Atlanta VA, Shaneka Jackson says she’s still facing the federal grievance process. (FOX 5)

ATLANTA – The victim of an alleged sexual assault from the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Atlanta is asking the government to hurry up and rule on her case.

Shaneka Jackson says she’s frustrated with the ongoing backlash with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Two and a half years have passed since then she filed a complaint with the VA’s EEO office and more than a year since her last call.

The trial is taking so long that the man he accused, former Atlanta VA Deputy Police Chief Johnnie McCullor, has already retired.

“I’m sure I’m still going to be traumatized by this, but with this going on and open, I’m concerned,” Jackson, a former VA police department dispatcher, told the FOX 5 I-Team. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen and I really want to know the end of this.”

The retirement in June of Deputy Police Chief Johnnie McCullor marked a new twist in Veterans Affairs’ efforts to root out dysfunction within the Atlanta VA Police Department. (FOX 5)

When the Veterans Affairs Office of the Chief Security Officer reviewed her allegations more than two years ago, it sided with her, deeming her reports “accurate and truthful.” The inquest’s findings said staff described McCullor as “vindictive, condescending, toxic and having a reputation as a ‘womaniser'”. The report also says his behavior created the appearance of “a romantic interest in Jackson.”

Her EEO investigation, however, conducted by a different division, was another matter.

An alleged attack

Jackson, a retired Air Force military police officer and mother of three, says she hasn’t been the same since. what happened to her. Once an outspoken and career-driven mother of three, she now said she barely leaves the house.

“I still suffer through daily panic attacks, anxiety, things like that,” Jackson said. “I can’t have relationships. I don’t trust men anymore, so to speak.”

Among other allegations, Jackson alleged that McCullor feigned interest in her career by helping her land a job at Culpepper & Associates Security, a private security company that the Atlanta VA also uses.

But one day in 2021, Jackson claimed that while he was alone with her in his office, McCullor allegedly closed the door, exposed himself and groped her, saying: “I told you it would cost you “.

Shaneka Jackson, a retired Air Force military police officer, told the FOX 5 I Team she wants justice from her EEO complaint, or at least closure. (FOX 5)

McCullor denied all of her claims when she met with EEO investigators. He did not respond to messages from the I-Team for this story.

Despite the findings of the VA’s top security officer’s investigation, McCullor remained the chief of the police department. The VA told the I-Team in a statement that “disciplinary actions were implemented in response to substantiated claims,” ​​but did not elaborate.

The VA is still investigating dysfunction reports within the police department, but can’t reach McCullor now because he retired in June.

Jackson continues to follow her EEOC appeal however, because that agency, which enforces employment discrimination and harassment laws, could have the VA pay her compensatory damages.

“I’m just asking you to finish the process,” Jackson said. “I have nightmares about things that happened to me, especially this incident that happened, the sexual assault.”

A former dispatcher has accused former Atlanta VA Medical Center Deputy Police Chief Johnnie McCullor of sexually assaulting her in his office. He retired while still under investigation.

She filed her EEO complaint with the VA two and a half years ago, but an administrative law judge dismissed it, saying it wasn’t timely filed and she wasn’t a VA employee when most of the incidents happened her accusations.

Jackson appealed to the EEOC, which handles appeals of federal workplace complaints. Her appeal was denied, then she appealed again. She argued that Culpepper contracted with the VA, essentially placing her under the authority of the Atlanta VA Police Department and its top brass.

“I was a VA employee,” Jackson told the I-Team. “If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t have had a VA employee ID.”

Atlanta employment attorney Amanda Farahany said that because of backlogs and staffing issues, EEOC appeals can take anywhere from a year to 18 months. (FOX 5)

Atlanta employment attorney Amanda Farahany said anxiety over prolonged litigation is common among women who have been sexually harassed and traumatized. Jackson is not her client, but Farahany said she appears to be doing the right thing — keeping the focus on her case and hoping the government moves faster.

“The EEOC, in particular, takes them a long time to go through the process,” Farahany said. “They’re underfunded, they’re understaffed, and with the things that happened during Covid, they’re even more supported than they were before.”

Her letter to the EEOC

When Jackson’s appeal turned one year old this month, she sent a letter to the EEOC Office of Federal Operations.

“Please explain what happens to an EEOC case or appeal when the accused resigns,” she wrote, later adding: “It’s been over a year — that’s 365 days of suffering. I am the victim. I just want impartial justice and fair relief. . Please help.”

She responded earlier this month saying her case remains open, explaining the process and saying: “Please be assured that the appeal is being processed in a fair and just manner. Thank you for your continued patience.”

When former Atlanta VA Police Deputy Chief Johnnie McCullor met with EEO investigators, he denied all of Shaneka Jackson’s claims.

The I-Team reached out to the EEOC for this story, but received a curt response: “We cannot comment on a pending appeal.”

Meanwhile, Jackson isn’t the only one still waiting for closure. Other current and former police department employees have EEO complaints pending, and the VA has not concluded its internal investigation into the department’s troubled culture, which has Police Chief Beverly Banks suspended with pay.

Atlanta VA Medical Center Police Chief Beverly Banks has been suspended with pay since May as an internal investigation into the department’s troubled culture began.

After that investigation launched in May, the FOX 5 I obtained an audio recording from a command staff meeting in 2023, provided by an officer present, where Chief Banks is heard telling staff, “I don’t want to hire black women anymore.”

“I don’t have Hispanic women,” she was also heard saying. “Hell, I don’t want them either.”

David Bennett, a retired Virginia police officer, seen here during an interview in May, said that when top people weren’t held accountable for bad behavior, a toxic culture spread within the Atlanta Police Department VA. (FOX 5)

Retired Virginia police officer David Bennett has his own EEO complaint pending, accusing Banks of revealing confidential information about him during a morning meeting. Still in touch with his former co-workers, he says the department remains in limbo because no one knows if Banks might return.

“Collectively, everyone wants to see change,” Bennett said. “They have a bit of a morale problem. The only way you’re going to solve this is from the top down.”