Lesbian Engineer Wins $480K for Grope Suit

A Long Island Rail Road locomotive engineer was awarded $480,000 Friday after a federal jury decided she was wrongfully accused of and arrested for fondling a coworker's breast, New York's Daily News reports.

Engineer Melissa Stampf tapped Angela Trigg's shoulder as a greeting in July 2006, but Trigg accused her of touching one of her breasts. Stampf, 43, was then arrested, but the Manhattan district attorney declined to prosecute.

Stampf sued the railroad and Trigg in Brooklyn federal court, claiming she was treated differently than white males implicated in similar incidents because of her race (she is believed to be the only Asian female locomotive engineer), gender, and sexual orientation — she is a lesbian.