Yosemite National Park, as seen on Oct. 2, 2013.
Tammy Webber / AP
The top official at Yosemite National Park has announced his retirement amid an ongoing sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed his park and several others across the US.
Superintendent Don Neubacher said this week he will retire, National Parks Service spokesman Tom Crosson confirmed to BuzzFeed News Thursday. Crosson did not provide additional details and Neubacher himself did not respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment.
Neubacher's retirement comes as dozens of NPS employees have blasted the agency for a culture of rampant sexual harassment. The complaints are not limited to Yosemite, but Neubacher was singled out last week at a congressional hearing for allegedly humiliating and intimidating employees.
Others have described a widespread cultural of sexual harassment in which perpetrators are rarely punished, and more often promoted.
Earlier this week, the Interior Department also said that it was returning to Yosemite as part of an ongoing investigation into harassment at the park.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz also BuzzFeed News Wednesday that Neubacher's wife essentially shielded him from responsibility because she works as a San Francisco-based regional manager for the NPS.
Chaffetz repeatedly said that the overall scandal — which also involved allegations at Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Canaveral National Seashore — meant people should be fired and potentially prosecuted criminally.
“I want to see somebody in handcuffs," Chaffetz said of the nation-spanning scandal.
LINK: Sexual Harassment Is Rampant At National Parks And Officials Did Nothing About It, Employees Say
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2cEyaDS
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