JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Florida Department of Corrections, an already beaten up system, went to Federal Court again Monday to face yet another battle.

This time, the battle was against five women who claimed they were sexually harassed while on the job.

"I felt very threatened and very intimidated," Karen Jones told First Coast News several years ago when the allegations surfaced.

Jones and four other women filed a lawsuit in 2004 claiming they were "expected to perform sexual favors in exchange for terms and conditions of employment."

One of the women said she was "touched in a sexual manner by an officer." Another said she asked her sergeant for some days off and was told: "You know what you have to do."

The women also claimed they were discouraged from reporting the incidents. One of the female officers says she was told "she would face retaliation if she filed an incident report."

A jury of four men and four women heard all these allegations and testimony from both sides. The jury started deliberating Friday afternoon and picked up again Monday morning. By two o'clock Monday afternoon, the jury had a verdict.

The jury unanimously voted the DOC was not guilty.

"It's been a long, hard fight but I think the verdict was the correct one. And I think the department has a very strong policy against sexual harassment. There's a zero tolerance for sexual harassment and these plaintiffs didn't give the system a chance to work and I think ultimately that worked against them," says Jeff Cramer, an attorney for the DOC.

The five women left court together, some of them in tears.

The women told First Coast News they are angry and disappointed at the verdict. They also say they plan to appeal the decision.