Naming Names of the Severe Workplace Sexual Harassment at Schwebels Baking Co., Solon, Ohio

Naming Names of the Severe Workplace Sexual Harassment at Schwebels Baking Co., Solon, Ohio

I am writing to document, in a direct and unrestrained manner, the sexual harassment I endured during my employment at Schwebels Baking Co. in Solon, Ohio, from 2014 through March 2015. What I experienced in that workplace was like an evil den of predators. My goal is to provide an accurate record of what occurred, how it shaped my life, and why the individuals involved must be held accountable for the trauma they inflicted.

I worked on the bakery production floor, operating machinery. A man named Darko, who identified himself as Croatian (though I initially thought his language was Russian), worked directly in front of me. His behavior quickly escalated into actions that any reasonable person would recognize as abusive, degrading, and unlawful. He shaped dough into a dildo and hung it on a phone in plain view of me. On another occasion, he entered the work area with a long dough “penis” extending from his crotch to his ankle and deliberately lifted his leg to shock me. I was only a few feet away, trapped in a workplace where no one intervened. Darko has a distinctive lion tattoo on his right upper arm, which he used, along with his actions, to intimidate me.

His associate, a man named Al, was a key player in this environment of harassment. He displayed his lion tattoo to me while we were outside in the smoking area and seemed to take pleasure in my discomfort. Al came onto the production floor and made a camera-recording gesture toward me, implying that I was being filmed without my consent. Their combined actions were not random; they were deliberate, sexualized, and intended to dominate and humiliate. As of today, I have no understanding of why these two strangers felt entitled to treat me in this way, but I know that their actions caused long-lasting trauma.

The harassment extended beyond these two men. A supervisor placed a small wiener-shaped piece of dough into my hand while berating me, treating me like a sexual object. Another man stood beside me with an erection. John, another male coworker, repeatedly walked past me while making explicit gestures of masturbation. One day, a Black female coworker came to her station and bowed down on the floor as if demonstrating what women were expected to do in the presence of Darko and Al. Witnessing this, I felt the suffocating weight of fear and intimidation that permeated that workplace.

Leadership did nothing to prevent or address any of it. A stand-in CEO eventually visited the plant, and his demeanor reinforced how deeply unprofessional the environment had become. Instead of enforcing standards, he engaged in crude sexual gestures directly in front of me. His behavior sent a message that misconduct was not only tolerated but condoned at the highest levels of the organization. I realized that no one in authority intended to intervene to protect my safety, dignity, or mental well-being.

I left Schwebels Baking Co. in March 2015 because remaining there had become emotionally and psychologically unbearable. I continue to experience severe consequences from the harassment I endured, including symptoms consistent with PTSD. I endured repeated humiliation, sexual intimidation, and trauma at the hands of individuals who remain unaccountable. No internal system protected me. No leader acted ethically. No corrective measures were taken.

I write now to assert my right to be heard, to state what occurred without dilution, and to demand accountability. Workplace harassment is not a misunderstanding, a joke, or a harmless act. It is a violation that can alter the course of a life. My experience at Schwebels Baking Co. did exactly that, and I refuse to remain silent about the abuse and lasting trauma I endured in what was, in every sense, an evil den of predators.

Side Note: How American men participated in covering up the actions of a sexual foreign predator adds another layer of betrayal and negligence. Their inaction allowed abusive behavior to continue unchecked and reinforced the sense that I was alone in facing this harassment. 

December 2, 2025 It is my statement and truth of what these Sexual Predators did to me - Barbara Niedzalkowski

A Retired Navy Jag Attorney - Timothy Michael Sullivan out of Westlake, Ohio Participated in Covering up Sexual Predators at Schwebels Baking Co, in Solon Ohio