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A woman who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her breasts last year as they took a selfie together has filed a criminal complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, announced Friday office.
Complaint from woman identified as ‘No. 1 executive assistant’ to protect her identity raises the possibility of Cuomo facing criminal charges related to her conduct, detailed in a 165-page report released this week by the office New York State Attorney General Letitia James. .
The report says Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women and that his administration created a “climate of fear” in a “toxic” workplace and violated federal and state civil laws.
Four criminal prosecutors, in Albany, Westchester, Manhattan and Nassau County, announced following the release of the report by James that they would review the evidence she had compiled as they considered laying criminal charges .
Cuomo has denied touching women inappropriately or engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct and has so far resisted calls for resignation. After the attorney general’s investigation was released on Tuesday, Joe Biden was among the powerful Democratic figures calling for Cuomo’s resignation.
The state assembly is also investigating Cuomo and whether the third-term Democratic governor should be impeached.
The Albany County criminal complaint was first reported by The New York Post, which said the victim filed the complaint Thursday afternoon after meeting with the sheriff’s office.
The executive assistant told investigators that Cuomo called her to the governor’s mansion in November last year, led her to a room, closed the door, slipped his hand under her blouse, and put on her breast sectioned over her bra, according to investigators’ report.
The woman’s allegations were detailed in the attorney general’s report. She told investigators: “I have to tell you that was – when I was in shock I could just tell you that I just remember looking at her hand, seeing the top of my bra and i remember it was kinda like the beanie – the kind of bra i had to the point i could tell you it doesn’t really fit on me it was a little loose i remember just seeing exactly that.
The report also found that Cuomo and his staff retaliated against at least one woman who complained about him by leaking his confidential employment records to the press.
James said Cuomo broke federal and state laws prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, but the investigation she was overseeing was a civilian investigation and would not pursue.
Sheriff Craig Apple told the Post that the governor could be arrested if the allegations are substantiated. “The end result could be that it appears to be justified and that an arrest is made and that it would be up to the prosecutor to continue the arrest,” Apple said.
Cuomo has also been accused of improperly touching a female state soldier he designed to be part of his security team.
Meanwhile, Cuomo staff said they contacted Albany Police in March when the executive assistant’s allegations emerged.
“As we said previously, we proactively made a referral almost four months ago in accordance with state policies,” Cuomo spokesperson Richard Azzopardi said in a statement.
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In the United States, Rainn offers assistance at 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers rape and sexual abuse assistance on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, assistance is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines are available at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
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