LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock County Justice of the Peace Susan Rowley says County Judge Curtis Parrish made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2024. Parrish called the allegations “preposterous” and said he had no comment.
Rowley first made the claims public on the Facebook page Lubbock Lampoon. She and Parrish both took office in January 2019.
Rowley said she and Parrish became good friends over the years.
“If I’d had something great happen in court or something interesting happen in court, I’d go see him. He’d talk to me, you know, out in the parking lot or wherever, in the halls. He was just a really good friend that I trusted,” she said.
She said she would visit his office in August 2024, shortly after her brother died, seeking comfort.
“He gave me this big, huge hug,” Rowley said, describing the first visit. “And it felt so good to have a friend just give me a hug like that.”
About a week later, Rowley said she was seeking that support again. She says she went back to his office and Parrish closed his door, hugged her and kissed her on the mouth.
“I was surprised, but I’m humiliated to say this, but I kissed him back. In retrospect, I don’t know why,” she said.
Rowley said she visited Parrish a third time, and he again hugged and kissed her.
“Then he started touching my body through my clothes…It really felt uncomfortable…but then he took my hand and he placed it on his crotch,” she said. “That was way out of bounds. There’s nothing that I have ever said to him or implied to him or anything to him that I would want anything to do with him sexually – ever.”
Rowley said the incidents happened over the course of a month. She said she did not report them to human resources because she did not think anything would be done. She has not reported the allegations to police or filed a court action against Parrish.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Rowley said, adding that she viewed Parrish as “the most powerful man in the county.”
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