By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Jury selection began on Monday in the harassment suit that Maria Walls brought against Beaufort County and former Beaufort County Auditor James Beckert.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed in August 2020, alleges that Beckert spent years “harassing, bullying, defaming and threatening Walls” and prior to filing the lawsuit she sought help from the Beaufort County Administrator, Deputy County Administrator, Beaufort County Council members, the County Attorney, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the County’s Human Resources Department.
In her suit, she alleges that Beaufort County failed to provide a safe and non-hostile work environment for her and other employes.
“Former County employees describe Beckert as a bully, totalitarian and abusive especially toward women,” the lawsuit asserts.
Walls also claimed that Beckert made threatening comments to hear, including telling her that he “hoped nothing bad happened to her while she was out of the office or driving home from work one day,” after finding out that she was pregnant.
One instance of the alleged harassment listed in the suit states that Beckert repeatedly stood outside of Walls’ office window and watched her to make her feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
She also accused Beckert of using county security cameras to “stalk” her movements and “accost her”.
At least two other women who worked in Beaufort County government have also brought similar lawsuits against Beckert – Alicia Holland in Sept. 2020 and Amanda Paulsen in Sept. 2022.
Holland’s case is still pending, but Paulsen appears to have reached a settlement in April 2024, but the suit is still marked as pending in judicial records.
On Sept. 4, S.C. Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds rejected motions made by Beckert and Beaufort County to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Walls.
County attorneys said that Beckert had been hostile, chauvinistic and abusive, but stated that the county had no responsibility in his conduct.
Walls also has a second lawsuit that is currently pending against Beaufort County that alleges the county retaliated against her in her official capacity as Treasurer.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
