The woman who alerted the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to employee viewing of Internet pornography has sued the school. Cynthia Davis, a UT-Houston audit manager when she conducted the 2003 investigation, filed the lawsuit earlier this month in a Harris County federal court. She alleges school leaders violated her free-speech rights and retaliated by forcing her out of her job.

“Ms. Davis wants to bring to light not just the pain caused her by pornography abuse at UT-Houston but the school’s response to it, the way it swept it under the rug,” said Martin Shellist, Davis’ lawyer.

Davis declined to comment on the suit, as did UT-Houston officials.

The FBI looked into Davis’ claims after she reported employees were accessing teen porn Web sites. The FBI concluded there was no evidence the material met its child-pornography threshold.

Davis resigned before then, contending that the school’s failure to take stronger disciplinary action and the retaliation against her created a hostile work environment. The suit calls her move an “involuntary resignation.”

The Houston Chronicle reported on Davis’ claims in early February 2004 based on an exchange of memos it obtained.

UT-Houston’s response to Davis’ last investigation was to counsel the employees, place a written reprimand in their files and inform them repeat offenses would result in termination. The investigation findings and a child-pornography incident involving an employee of UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas led to a system task force on computer use. Shellist called its report “a whitewash.”

The lawsuit names the UT System and UT System regents, UT-Houston and UT-Houston administrators Michael McKinney and Charles Chaffin, and asks for damages and reinstatement.