Married Fresno Unified HR boss accused of coercing ex-college basketball star into sex, threatening his family: suit
A married HR executive at a California school district allegedly waged a relentless campaign of sexual harassment, threats, and coercion against a subordinate, threatening his family, pressuring him into sex, and secretly topping up his slashed wages using a Target card, an explosive lawsuit has claimed.According to court documents filed in the Superior Court of California, Ja’Vance Coleman — a 42-year-old former NBA prospect at Fresno State — claims he was subjected to sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and retaliation by former Fresno Unified School District HR director Manjit Atwal.Official court filings show the civil lawsuit, which brings nine causes of action against Atwal and the district, has been assigned to Judge Jonathan M.Skiles in Department 503 of the Fresno Superior Court. According to the suit obtained by The Post, Coleman was first hired by the district in January 2023 as a noontime assistant at Columbia Elementary School before landing a role within FUSD’s main human resources department later that spring.The legal papers allege Atwal quickly propositioned her new subordinate for sexual favors.
According to the complaint, Atwal had established a “pattern of threatening the jobs or job-related benefits of black employees in exchange for sexual acts,” leaving Coleman to believe that refusing her advances would lead to immediate firing or reprisals.The suit alleges Atwal became “territorial,” falsely accusing female co-workers of flirting with Coleman and moving his desk to isolate him from other staff.According to the suit, after other employees and administrators began suspecting the harassment, FUSD transferred Coleman to Tatarian Elementary School as a campus safety assistant, cutting his pay from $35 an hour to $25 an hour.The filing alleges Atwal then stepped in to cover the pay drop herself, secretly supplementing his income with off-the-books cash and purchases made on her personal Target credit card “so that her hus...