Four women who accused Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of groping them at a party last year filed a federal lawsuit against him on Tuesday, alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, gender discrimination and defamation, among other claims.
The four plaintiffs, who all work for the state of Indiana, first went public with their allegations last summer. State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon and statehouse employees Gabrielle McLemore, Samantha Lozano and Niki DaSilva said Hill touched their backs or buttocks inappropriately at an annual gathering last March marking the end of the legislative session.
Lozano said she witnessed Hill approach Reardon, âplace his hand on her back and slide his hand down Ms. Reardonâs buttocks and grab Ms. Reardon underneath her dress,â according to the lawsuit.
DaSilva said Hill touched her lower back and her buttocks; and Lozano and McLemore said the attorney general inappropriately touched their backs.
âI was just worried, âWhat are other people thinking around me?ââ McLemore told the Daily Beast of the unwanted encounter. ââDo they think that I want him to be rubbing my back?â âDoes it look like I invited him over?ââ
The women also claim they suffered retaliation by the Office of the Attorney General and other staffers after they came forward with their allegations.
âTheyâve been mocked and ridiculed by their colleagues,â the womenâs attorney Hannah Kaufman Joseph said at a press conference on Tuesday, according to the Indianapolis Star. âTheyâve been the subject of very negative reactions by both legislative members, lawmakers themselves and the staff.â
The lawsuit follows a state ethics probe and a criminal investigation launched last year into the womenâs allegations against Hill. Neither led to formal charges against the attorney general.
The criminal probe concluded that while the womenâs accounts were credible, the evidence was not sufficient to prove âbeyond a reasonable doubt that Hill committedâ battery.
Indiana Inspector General Lori Torres said in her report that while Hillâs behavior was âcreepyâ and âinappropriate,â he had not violated state ethics rules.
âMultiple eyewitnesses provided statements that Hillâs conduct was inappropriate, âcreepy,â unwelcome, and made many of the women at the party uncomfortable,â Torres wrote.
âAll but one of the women who alleged Hill inappropriately touched them were in their 20âs and new in their careers. This demonstrates the disparate power, influence, authority, and age that exists between Hill and the women who made allegations against him,â she added.
Responding to the lawsuit on Tuesday, Hillâs office told NBC News in a statement the plaintiffsâ misconduct allegations had already been investigated and âconcluded without any recommendations for further action.â
Hill had previously denied the allegations, saying last July that âfalse accusations have irretrievably damaged my reputation.â
âI was not afforded fairness in the investigation,â he said.
DaSilva, one of the plaintiffs, said the women had decided to push ahead with the lawsuit in the hope that Hill would be âheld accountable for what he did.â
âEven elected officials should be held responsible for their actions,â she told the Daily Beast.