Counselor's Sexual Harassment Case Against Casper Psychiatrist Is ‘Resolved’

The lawsuit in which a licensed professional counselor accused a Casper-based psychiatrist of frequent sexual harassment and making lewd comments about patients has been resolved and dismissed without a trial.

Former Wyoming Behavioral Institute (WBI) employee Shawna Punteney filed her federal civil complaint Feb. 19, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming to accuse WBI psychiatrist Dr. David Martorano of “intentional, sexually charged behavior” at work that “was outrageous and extreme to a degree beyond all possible bounds of decency.”

She also sued WBI, accusing the corporation of sex discrimination.

U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson dismissed the lawsuit July 29 at the request of all parties, who’d announced the day prior that Punteney’s claims were “resolved.”

The judge ordered everyone to bear his or her own attorney costs.

Martorano declined to comment in a Wednesday phone call, saying he could not. WBI did not return a voicemail message by publication time.

One of Punteney’s attorneys, Frank Chapman of Kelly, Wyoming, declined Wednesday to comment.

The dismissal comes more than a year after Johnson ordered the parties in the case to go through arbitration proceedings together, in May 2024.

If there’s a written settlement agreement, it’s not publicly filed.

The Claims, The Ask

Punteney had alleged that WBI and Martorano discriminated against her for being female by creating a hostile work environment from which she felt compelled to resign. She also claimed both WBI and Martorano retaliated against her for filing complaints about those issues.

She worked for WBI from January 2019 to November 2020, her complaint says.

Martorano sexually harassed and bullied “every female he came into contact with,” Punteney alleged.

Her complaint says he’d offer women private massages at his home, invite female staffers to have private dinners with him, joke about women’s bodies, tell Punteney she has “big boobs” and that “everyone stares at” them, and joke about his own genitals.

Martorano talked about his sex life in front of staff and patients, saying he had an “open marriage” and could sleep with whomever he wanted, the complaint alleges.

When Punteney told Martorano one female patient had a yeast infection, Martorano latter said he “always wanted to start a yogurt factory,” claims the document.

Martorano allegedly asked female patients how many times per week their partners made them climax sexually.

“The female patients felt compelled to respond because they thought it was necessary for their treatment,” says the complaint.

Good Girl

The complaint claims Martorano told Punteney he had access to the records at Wyoming Medical Center and could “hurt someone.” It says he’d tell Punteney to be “a good girl” and do as she was told or he’d “punish” her when she was “bad,” and that she should “fear” him. If she was good, he would “reward her,” the document says.

Punteney couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Martorano, the complaint says.

‘We’ll End Up In Human Resources’

Punteney made complaints about Martorano to WBI’s human resources department, the document says.

She alleged that colleagues called her degrading names after she complained, and that one female employee called her a “skank.”

The human resources department reportedly found Martorano was condescending toward members of the clinical staff team and made off-color comments, the complaint says. The CEO of human resources told Martorano to stop making off-color humor and stick to the clinical diagnostic comments — and not to retaliate in any way, it adds.

Punteney’s complaint says the alleged harassment worsened after she filed complaints, and Martorano warned her to “fear” him.

He warned others to be careful around Punteney or “we will end up in human resources,” the document says.

Punteney resigned Nov. 1, 2020.

She claimed WBI told her new employer that as long as she worked there, they wouldn’t refer patients, presumably to that facility.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.