Fired NBC Boston Reporter Alleges Sexual Harassment

A former WBTS NBC Boston reporter who was fired in 2019 for purportedly failing to disclose her relationship with a local police chief is suing the station in federal court, arguing she was sexually harassed by a female colleague and was dismissed in retaliation for complaining about a hostile work environ.

The Boston Globe reports Karen Hensel was an investigative reporter when she was fired in 2019 for violating NBCUniversal’s conflict-of-interest policies for her relationship with then-Auburn police chief Andrew Sluckis Jr.

Karen Hensel

In a complaint filed last week in US District Court in Boston, Hensel alleged that a male assistant news director was not similarly fired or disciplined for having a personal relationship with a female subordinate, even after the woman’s spouse confronted the man at the station.

Instead, Hensel said she was fired in retaliation for complaining about an ongoing “sexually-hostile work environment” which was primarily perpetuated by another female investigative reporter at the station, who was identified only as Jane Doe in court papers.

Hensel said she was dismissed after the station received an anonymous tip about her relationship with the police chief, which management had already known about.

“Rather than investigate Ms. Doe’s conduct and/or take appropriate corrective measures to address the hostile work environment of which plaintiff had repeatedly complained, NBC10-Boston chose to protect Ms. Doe and to terminate plaintiff under the guise of receiving an anonymous tip containing information of which station management had been aware for approximately nine months,” Hensel’s lawsuit said.

Hensel’s suit names NBCUniversal, WBTS Television, and former NBC Boston news director Ben Dobson as defendants. Dobson and representatives for the station and NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Hensel is seeking damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees in her lawsuit, which was filed Nov. 10.

Hensel, who moved from Indiana to Boston when she joined the station in 2016, has received numerous professional accolades, including two Peabody awards, 11 Emmy awards, national and regional Edward R. Murrow awards, and awards from the Associated Press, according to her court complaint.