A former employee of Rockstar, the developer of the Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto franchises, has claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a member of the company’s top executive team.
The incident reportedly happened in 2014, but it only came to light recently after a thorough investigation from Kotaku. It involves Jeronimo Barrera, who was the vice president of product development of the company back then.
Barrera quietly left Rockstar after serving for 20 years, a decision he made last December. No one in the gaming community really knew what happened. However, the company’s staff reportedly feared him for being a volatile boss and someone who would not hesitate in firing employees.
This new allegation, however, is definitely on a different scale. Barrera has since denied the claims and refused to comment on the situation.
According to the Kotaku article, Rockstar’s designer Colin Bundschu was new to the studio when Barrera groped him in a nightclub during a work night out. Speaking to the publication, he said that the executive groped him not once, but twice. To the surprise of everyone, Bundschu decided to leave the company. Apparently, the incident had some witnesses, with colleagues believed to have immediately reported the situation to the studio’s HR department.
Rockstar eventually dismissed the claim. Barrera, on the other hand, kept claiming that he did not remember what happened. Later on, though, he refuted it happened outright. No other witnesses came forward and claimed Bundschu’s story to be true.
"Given that your allegations could not be substantiated, the remedial action against Jeronimo that you appear to seek is not warranted," the company told Bundschu about their decision. He then left the company and the video games industry shortly afterward.
Some of Rockstar’s employees also spoke to Kotaku, saying that they would not get involved or even trust the company’s HR division. This is most especially after its decision to mediate serious issues like the one Bundschu experienced. They also claim that they are not doing this just to “rock the boat” and simply because they want attention; rather, they want the company to really resolve this issue with utmost professionalism and Bundschu gets the justice he deserves.
