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Woman says she was sexually harassed by Sarasota Schools top leader, now dealing with PTSD and depression

A third party investigation confirmed allegations against the assistant superintendent of Sarasota County Schools.

SARASOTA, Fla. — Sexual harassment and retaliation are two of the complaints against a top leader with Sarasota County Schools.

Now, a third party investigation is not only confirming those allegations, but also pointing the finger at other leaders in the district.

Cheraina Bonner is the woman behind the allegations.

Bonner says she's still in counseling after she says her boss, Jeff Maultsby, the Assistant Superintendent of Sarasota County Schools, sexually harassed her and then threatened to retaliate.

"It's a hard position to be in when you're talking about your livelihood versus your mental status and at the time I chose my family and my kids because that's important to me," said Bonner.

Bonner claims Maultsby would make inappropriate comments and often send her text messages. On Christmas at 1 AM, Bonner says she got a video from Maultsby.

In the video, you can hear a man singing and saying, "Here I am Miss Raina! I ain't gon' show you what I'm doing. I'm just going to talk to you."

RELATED: Investigation finds Sarasota asst. superintendent sexually harassed his administrative assistant

Bonner said the video brought on great unease and stress adding, "at that time of the morning, you're thinking about me? That made me really uncomfortable."

Eventually, Bonner reported Maultsby to the superintendent in April right after she says she received a text message from Maultsby that said, "stitches get stitches".  

In June, Maultsby was placed on administrative leave. The school board hired an independent investigator to look into Bonner's complaints.

That investigator issued a report that found that Maultsby did sexually harass Bonner and threaten to retaliate against her when she reported him. The investigation also found superintendent Todd Bowden played a role in the district's failure to address Bonner's claims.

"My number one goal is to see this not happen to anybody else. If I had my way, I feel like every party listed in the report needs to be held accountable," said Bonner.

10News reached out to Jeff Maultsby and Todd Bowden for comment. They did not respond. A spokesperson with Sarasota County Schools said the district cannot legally comment on the report until Monday.

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