Cesar Chavez Estate Sued as 86-Year-Old Woman Accuses Him of 1973 Rape

An 86-year-old former United Farm Workers organizer has sued the estate of Cesar Chavez and two organizations tied to the late labor leader, accusing Chavez of raping her at a California farmworker compound in 1973 and alleging people within the movement helped conceal his abuse of women.

The complaint, filed Sept. 1 in Kern County Superior Court, identifies the accuser as Jane Doe and names the Cesar Chavez Foundation and United Farm Workers Foundation. The lawsuit alleges negligence, sexual harassment, and civil rights violations tied to Chavez’s alleged conduct and efforts to keep accusations against him from becoming public.

Doe says the assault occurred while she was living at Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz, known as La Paz, the farmworker movement’s compound in the Tehachapi Mountains east of Bakersfield. She had moved to California’s Central Valley after college to support organizing efforts and later worked with Chavez and the UFW.

According to the complaint, Chavez arranged a celebration around Doe’s 33rd birthday in the spring of 1973 after her husband was sent away on union business. Chavez allegedly encouraged her to drink and repeatedly pursued her until she became uncomfortable and hid in a bathroom.

After leaving the gathering and returning home, Doe found one of Chavez’s bodyguards outside the house, the lawsuit states. Chavez was allegedly waiting inside her bedroom, where he pulled her onto a bed and raped her while the bodyguard remained outside.

A second alleged assault occurred three or four years later. The complaint claims Chavez summoned Doe to his home and forcibly pulled her head toward his crotch. She says she largely avoided him afterward except when work required contact at board meetings and other UFW functions.

The lawsuit comes after California opened a new two-year window for certain adult sexual assault claims that had already expired. Assembly Bill 250 took effect Jan. 1 and allows qualifying lawsuits to be filed through Dec. 31, 2027.

The law also revived certain claims against organizations when a plaintiff alleges legal responsibility for an assault and a cover-up or attempted cover-up of sexual assault allegations. Doe accuses people within the UFW of knowing about Chavez’s conduct, failing to intervene, and helping keep evidence of alleged abuse from becoming public. The alleged cover-up is central to her effort to hold the organizations liable for conduct she says occurred more than five decades ago.

The filing adds to scrutiny of Chavez’s legacy after several women publicly accused him of sexual misconduct earlier this year. It is the first known legal action since those allegations surfaced in March.

Among the accusers is Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the organization that became the United Farm Workers with Chavez. Huerta has said Chavez sexually abused her during two encounters decades ago. Other women have also accused him of misconduct.

Chavez, one of the country’s best-known labor and civil rights figures, died in 1993 at age 66. Doe’s attorneys say she decided to come forward after learning about the other accusations, saying in connection with the lawsuit, “I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”

The Cesar Chavez Foundation said it had recently learned of the complaint and was reviewing it with legal counsel. The organization said it would respond in a manner consistent with its mission and values.

The defendants have not yet responded to the substance of Doe’s allegations in court. The lawsuit is pending in Kern County Superior Court.