A senior director at the City University of New York is accused in a new lawsuit of groping and sexually harassing a subordinate, then exposing himself to her while driving her home from a Manhattan office happy hour to Newark, New Jersey.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 29 in Manhattan Supreme Court, names Krafins Valcin, CUNY’s senior director of academic collaboration technology. The accuser, a 34-year-old IT senior associate whose name is being withheld, says the incident happened Dec. 2, 2025, after the two carpooled from the event because they both live in New Jersey.
According to court papers, she had worked with Valcin for about six months without any problems before that night. She says his behavior changed as they walked to his car, when he grabbed her fingers and said, “I can tell you have a fat p—y.”
She says she was “utterly shocked” and made clear she wasn’t interested, but that he continued making comments and rubbing her thigh “toward her genitals” during the drive to Newark, where her car was parked at a train station.
The lawsuit claims Valcin parked in front of her vehicle to block her from leaving, then came to her driver’s side door, opened it and forced her hand onto his erect penis, saying, “This is what you do to me.” After she pulled her hand away, she says he dropped his pants and exposed himself.
She reported the incident to Newark police, but the case was dropped due to a lack of video evidence, according to a source familiar with the matter. The lawsuit also claims Valcin apologized afterward and said he had “more to lose” than she did.
In January, she contacted CUNY’s Title IX office after experiencing panic attacks at work. She says a no-contact order between her and Valcin was issued in February, but that he has remained in his position. She has been working from home ever since, saying she has not returned to the office.
“The worst part is that after being subjected to her co-worker’s inappropriate and degrading sexual advances, CUNY did nothing to reprimand or alter the perpetrator’s employment. Rather than ensuring a safe work environment for the plaintiff, CUNY actually placed the burden on her to adjust her entire workplace to avoid him,” the woman’s lawyer, Gerald Cohen, said.
Reached by phone, Valcin said he was “shocked” by the lawsuit and denied groping the woman, but declined to comment further.
A CUNY spokesperson said: “CUNY takes allegations of sexual assault and harassment seriously and is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. Because this is a pending legal matter, we cannot comment further.”
