An appellate judicial assistant on Wednesday sued the state of California and embattled Second District Court of Appeal Justice Jeffrey Johnson for what she described as five years of "unwelcome, inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature" by Johnson.

In a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Trisha Velez said Johnson between 2013 and 2018 subjected her to questions about her sexual history and marriage and allegedly told her, "If I was married to you, I would never leave your bed. I like you, Trish."

Velez is one of more than a dozen attorneys, court employees and security officers who told Commission on Judicial Performance investigators that Johnson acted inappropriately to them in incidents going back to 2009. Velez is an assistant to Justice Victoria Chaney, who alleged that Johnson groped her and made unwelcome suggestive comments to her on numerous occasions.

Johnson did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Neither did Daniel Potter, the Second District's executive officer.

Johnson has said he takes responsibility for some of his actions but also blamed many of the allegations leveled against him on courthouse rumors and stereotypes of African American men. "Johnson deserves the opportunity, as the commission has given others, to prove that reformation and redemption are part of the system of justice in this administration," his lawyers said last month.

The Commission on Judicial Performance will hold a hearing on the allegations Wednesday as they weigh possible discipline, which could lead to his removal from office. A panel of special masters concluded in January that commission examiners proved most of the elements within 10 counts of misconduct filed against Johnson.

Velez's complaint cites liberally from the original Commission on Judicial Performance charging documents and the special masters' report.

Velez said she did not complain to her supervisors because she feared retaliation. Her lawsuit, alleging sexual harassment and emotional distress, seeks general and special damages from Johnson and the state as well as punitive damages from Johnson.

Johnson "is still around the courthouse and [Velez] is still very uncomfortable," said Velez's attorney, Kelli Burritt of Winer, Burritt & Tillis.

Velez's complaint marks the second harassment lawsuit filed against Johnson and the state by a court worker since allegations of Johnson's conduct went public in July 2018. Former CHP officer Tatiana Sauquillo, who worked as a security agent for Johnson, sued the appellate justice and the court in 2019, alleging that he harassed her. That lawsuit is scheduled for trial in 2021.

Johnson also sued the Second District's administrative presiding justice, Elwood Lui, for leaking details about some of the allegations when Lui inadvertently sent an email about his conversation with Sauquillo to hundreds of members of the state judiciary. That lawsuit was dismissed last September.