NEW YORK (AP) – A second former assistant has come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against New York government Andrew Cuomo, who responded with a statement on Saturday saying he had never made any progress with her and never intended to be inappropriate.
Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor’s government until November, told The New York Times that Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she had ever had sex with older men.
Another former assistant, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Cuomo. to subject her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comment. Cuomo denied the allegations.
Cuomo said in a statement on Saturday that Bennett was a “hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID” and that “she has every right to speak.”
He said he intended to be a mentor to Bennett, who is 25.
“I have never made progress with Ms. Bennett and also never intended to act in any way that was inappropriate,” Cuomo’s statement read. “The last thing I would have ever wanted was to make her feel something being reported.”
Cuomo, however, said he approves an external review of Bennett’s allegations.
The special counsel of the governor, Beth Garvey, said the review would be done by a former federal judge, Barbara Jones.
“I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any statements,” Cuomo said. “I will not comment further until the investigation is completed.”
Bennett told the Times that her most disturbing interaction with Cuomo took place on June 5 when she was alone with him in his office in Albany. She said Cuomo started questioning her about her personal life, her thoughts on romantic relationships, including whether age was a factor, and said he was open to relationships with women in their twenties.
Bennett said she also evaded a question from Cuomo about hugs by saying she did not hurt her parents. She said Cuomo never touched her.
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and he felt terribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the Times. “And I wondered how I was going to get out of there and assumed it was the end of my job.”
According to Bennett, less than a week later, she informed Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers. She said she was transferred to another job on the other side of the Capitol. In late June, she said she had also declared a special counsel for Cuomo.
Garvey admitted that the complaint had been filed and that Bennett had consequently been transferred to a position in which she was already interested.
Bennett told the newspaper that she had finally decided not to act further for the government. She said she likes her new job and “wants to move on.”
The allegations at the time did not result in any action against Cuomo.
Jones, who will oversee the investigation, was appointed to the bench in 1995 by Democratic President Bill Clinton. As a judge, she rejected a section of the Defense Defense Act that denies federal recognition of same-sex marriage in a ruling. later ratified by the U.S. Supreme Court.
After retiring, she joined the law firm Bracewell LLP, where her work focuses on corporate compliance and investigations.
Her arbitration work includes a 2014 ruling that overturned the suspension of Ray Rice by the NFL for beating his fiancée in an elevator in an attack recorded on video.