Syracuse, N.Y. ― A female security guard is suing the Syracuse City School District and a man she alleges sexually harassed her while they worked at Huntington PreK-8 School.
Fortunata Sweeting alleged Mered Billue made repeated unwanted advances between September 2024 and January 2025, according to a lawsuit filed in Onondaga County Supreme Court on Friday.
In the lawsuit, Sweeting said Billue’s alleged harassment culminated with Billue showing her a photo of his penis while at school.
Contacted Monday, Billue declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.
The district also declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.
Sweeting accuses the district of creating a hostile workplace, retaliating against her and negligently continuing Billue’s employment, the lawsuit said.
Sweeting met Billue when he was working as dean of students at the Huntington school, she said in the lawsuit.
Within the first week of meeting Billue in September 2024, he “engaged in a persistent pattern of unwanted and inappropriate conduct,” according to the lawsuit.
He asked her to go to dinner or get drinks with him around two to three times per month, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges Billue also made unwanted comments about her physical appearance.
“At no time did [Sweeting] welcome, encourage or consent to Billue’s advances, requests for dates or comments about her appearance,” the lawsuit stated.
Sweeting did not initially report the harassment for fear of retaliation, the lawsuit said.
In October 2024, Billue told Sweeting a teacher had made a complaint against him for making sexual comments to her on a field trip, according to the lawsuit.
“Despite this prior complaint, the district failed to take adequate remedial action to prevent Billue from continuing to harass female staff members,” the lawsuit alleges.
On Jan. 6, Sweeting was in the 5th-grade hallway on the second floor of the school when Billue approached her, the lawsuit said. Billue asked Sweeting if she wanted to see photos of what he made for breakfast on Christmas, the lawsuit said. Sweeting agreed, it said.
Billue began showing her photos of food, the lawsuit said. Sweeting replied his son must have been surprised by the meal, it said
The lawsuit alleges Billue responded by saying: “Yeah, but I just figured you could have some of this food after you get done having fun with this.”
Billue then showed Sweeting a photo of his penis, the lawsuit alleges.
Before she could respond, Billue was called to handle a student matter, the lawsuit said.
Shortly after the alleged incident, Sweeting reported it to a fellow female security guard, who said Billue showed her the same photograph that morning, according to the lawsuit.
The women were reluctant to report the incident because Billue’s mother, Twiggy Billue, serves on the school board, the lawsuit said.
On Jan. 7, the other security guard reported the incident to school officials, the lawsuit said. Sweeting reported her experience later that day, it said.
On Jan. 8, Billue was placed on administrative leave and removed from the school, the lawsuit said. Administrative leaves in the district are with pay.
The school district retained Colleen W. Heinrich, an education law attorney, to investigate Sweeting’s complaint, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit states Heinrich sent a letter to Sweeting informing her that her claim was found to be “truthful and accurate” and that the “district’s sexual harassment in the workplace policy was violated.” The matter was then referred to the district for further action, the lawsuit said.
Heinrich was not immediately available for comment.
The letter was submitted along with Sweeting’s notice of claim, according to the lawsuit. The letter is not included in the publicly filed documents. An employee of the Onondaga County Clerk’s office said the notice of claim and the exhibit were not filed along with the lawsuit on Friday.
Sweeting’s Attorney, Robert Jullian, was not immediately available for comment on the letter.
In the lawsuit, Sweeting alleges she was retaliated against after submitting the complaint.
In February 2025, Sweeting submitted a request to transfer schools in case Billue returned to work, the lawsuit said.
She was informed he would not be returning to the school and the principal asked her to withdraw her transfer request because she was doing a great job, according to the lawsuit.
Throughout the remainer of the school year, she received positive feedback on her work performance, the lawsuit said.
On the last day of school, she received a “dramatically and inexplicably negative” annual performance evaluation, according to the lawsuit.
The evaluation provided no specific examples to support the negative feedback, the lawsuit said.
Despite the negative evaluation, Sweeting was not placed on leave and was transferred to Lincoln Middle School, the lawsuit said.
In April 2025, Billue began working for the district in the Public Service Leadership Academy program at Fowler High School, according to the lawsuit.
Amanda Malinowski, a city school district spokesperson, on Monday refused to confirm whether Billue is still employed by the district. She refused to say what a dean of students, his position at Huntington, does in the district.
On Tuesday, Malinowski said Billue is employed as a case manager/dean of students at Syracuse’s STEM at Blodgett school.
A job posting for a dean of students at another Syracuse school says the job involves student discipline and creating positive connections with students. A dean also develops programs to promote student commitment, safety and harmony as well as establish and enforce high standards for students, staff and teachers.
Billue’s salary was $37,587 in 2024, according to an online database of public salaries.
The lawsuit alleges Billue should have been terminated for his conduct.
“By allowing Billue to remain employed and return to a school environment, the district has demonstrated deliberate indifference to the safety and well-being of its female employees,” the lawsuit states.
