REPEAT MISCONDUCT

DOJ Prosecutor Sexually Harassed Colleagues for Years: Watchdog

A recently revealed report from a watchdog office within the Justice Department reveals how an assistant U.S. attorney repeatedly sexually harassed female colleagues.

An federal prosecutor engaged in repeated sexual harassment of female colleagues for years, according to a report from the Justice Department’s watchdog agency. The lawyer is unnamed in the report, which was obtained by BuzzFeed News, but because of a redaction error can be identified as having worked in the U.S. attorney’s office that serves the Northern District of Ohio. In one instance, an intern accused him of making inappropriate comments, sending suggestive messages, and purposefully grazing her breast with his arm while reaching for a book. Employees of the Postal Service, the FBI, and the Justice Department accused him of sexual harassment.

Another witness reported seeing the lawyer grope a colleague at an office party, and said he’d sent her numerous sexual messages, including saying she had a “body that does not quit” and that there was “nothing better than pleasing a woman.” The attorney acknowledged many of the accusations during interviews with investigators, and the Office of the Inspector General says in the report that his physical harassment of the intern likely violated state law. The report says, however, that he will likely not face federal or state charges.