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A woman was on ‘Naked and Afraid.’ Her boss allegedly accessed her uncensored photos.
In a new lawsuit, Danielle Beauchemin also accuses her former supervisor of hiding cameras in the ceiling above her office to spy on her.
A Maine woman who appeared on the reality TV show “Naked and Afraid” is suing Kennebec County, alleging her former boss at the county’s Emergency Management Agency stalked her and downloaded dozens of nude photos and videos from her personal Google account.
Danielle Beauchemin outlined the disturbing allegations in a federal lawsuit last week, accusing county administrators of retaliating against her after she reported the supervisor to police. She claims the county not only rescinded her permission to have her service dog at work but also made light of the alleged stalking, accused her of poor job performance, and ultimately terminated her employment.
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Beauchemin “tried to persevere through her traumatic and anxiety-provoking time at the EMA because she was good at her job and loved the substance of what she was hired to do,” the lawsuit states. “Despite management’s hostility, Ms. Beauchemin refused to be forced out of her job, and the County and EMA administrators ultimately fabricated information to justify terminating her.”
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The complaint names Beauchemin’s former supervisor, ex-EMA Director Arthur True; Kennebec County Administrator Scott Ferguson; Finance Director Cynthia Ferguson; and Human Resources Director Christine Brawn.
“This case is about a worker’s right to feel safe in her workplace, both in her bodily autonomy and in her rights guaranteed by state and federal law,” said Beauchemin’s attorneys with the Maine law firm Johnson and Webbert.
But pushing back on Beauchemin’s complaint, Peter T. Marchesi, an attorney for the county, said local leaders took “immediate and decisive action” when True’s alleged misconduct came to light. Beauchemin’s claims of retaliation, he said, “could not be further from the truth.”
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“Ms. Beauchemin’s complaint appears to be an exercise in creative, sensationalist writing, and bears little relation to the true facts surrounding the events at issue,” Marchesi asserted. “The County made herculean efforts to meet the requests and demands of … Ms. Beauchemin within the structure of all applicable laws.”
Lawsuit: Former boss allegedly hid cameras to stalk Beauchemin
The former reality TV contestant began working for Kennebec County’s Emergency Management Agency on a three-year contract in January 2023, her position funded through a federal grant available under the American Rescue Plan Act, according to the lawsuit.
That April, Beauchemin checked the browsing history on her work computer and discovered that someone had logged into the device the previous weekend. According to her lawsuit, the interloper then accessed her personal Google Drive account and downloaded more than 100 photos, many of them uncensored nude images from her time on “Naked and Afraid” — a show that tasks contestants with surviving in the wilderness sans clothing or other supplies.
True was purportedly the only other person who could have accessed Beauchemin’s office and work computer, and her lawsuit states the alleged theft of her nude photos “left her feeling traumatized, scared, and unsafe at work.”
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Beauchemin further alleges that county employees discouraged her from going to the police, then retaliated against her when she reported True’s alleged conduct. According to her lawsuit, a subsequent police investigation revealed True had allegedly been stalking her “for some time,” even hiding cameras and a flashlight in the ceiling above her office to spy on her.
True — who resigned shortly after the alleged theft — pleaded not guilty to stalking and criminal invasion of computer privacy in 2024. The criminal case remains pending, according to Bangor Daily News.
The aftermath
For several months after Beauchemin first contacted police, she says high-level county administrators continued to discriminate and retaliate against her.
Beauchemin claims county administrators “began to categorically strip” her of her job duties and blamed her for missed payments to county CPR instructors. When she took unpaid medical leave due to the purportedly hostile work environment, she says the county “fired” her by writing her out of the federal grant that funded her position.
Marchesi, for his part, said Beauchemin’s position was eliminated “solely and exclusively” due to an independent evaluation that examined the use of the county’s limited federal funding.
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“While the timing was unfortunate and outside of the County’s control, the events involving Ms. Beauchemin’s report of her former supervisor’s conduct and his departure, and Ms. Beauchemin’s requests for workplace accommodations on the one hand, were and are entirely distinct from and unrelated to her own departure from County employment, on the other hand,” Marchesi added.
Meanwhile, Beauchemin said she continues to see a “profound and lasting impact” on her physical and mental health as a result of “being stalked, harassed, and discriminated and retaliated against.”
“Ms. Beauchemin often cries herself to sleep and lost more than 30 pounds after being fired,” her lawsuit states. “She no longer gets the same sense of enjoyment from activities that she used to love, including spending time in nature and socializing with her friends. She is also fearful of using electronics and social media for fear of being spied on again.”
What’s next?
Beauchemin’s lawsuit asks that she be reinstated to her old job or awarded “front pay for future lost wages and benefits,” as well as damages, back pay, and attorney’s fees. Marchesi said the county will defend itself “vigorously” and remains confident it will be “fully vindicated” in the end.
“It is most unfortunate that these events have resulted in the unfounded allegations set forth in the lawsuit, and it is likewise unfortunate that the taxpayers of Kennebec County will be put to the expense of defending unfounded allegations,” he said. “Nevertheless, the County looks forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that it treated Ms. Beauchemin fairly, in accordance with the law, and with respect.”
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Beauchemin’s lawyers said she wants to hold Kennebec County accountable and hopes the lawsuit will motivate local leaders to implement anti-discrimination trainings, safety policies, and better supervisor oversight.
“No one should have to go through the sort of invasion of privacy that Ms. Beauchemin experienced at work, and no one should face retaliation like Ms. Beauchemin did for reporting unlawful conduct by a supervisor,” they said. “She looks forward to vindicating her rights and holding the County accountable in court.”
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