Four Statehouse Employees Sue Indiana AG For Alleged Groping, Harassment

State capitol building in downtown Indianapolis Indiana on a sunny spring morning, Indianapolis is the capital city of Indiana and is located in the center of the state with the capitol building located downtown. (Ph... State capitol building in downtown Indianapolis Indiana on a sunny spring morning, Indianapolis is the capital city of Indiana and is located in the center of the state with the capitol building located downtown. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Four women who work in the Indiana statehouse, representing both parties, are suing Attorney General Curtis Hill for allegedly groping them and making leering comments during the same party in March of 2018.

According to the Daily Beast, the suit also includes accusations of retaliation and gender discrimination.

The four women are State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon (D), Samantha Lozano, a legislative assistant for Indiana House Democrats; Niki DaSilva, a legislative assistant for Indiana Senate Republicans; and Gabrielle McLemore, a communications director for the state senate’s Democratic caucus.

Reardon says that Hill slid his hand down her back to grab her behind, later saying “that skin, that back” as he approached her again.

Lozano says she commented on the warmth of the bar when she was standing near him, and that he responded: “yes, you’re really hot.” She said he grabbed her back as well.

DaSilva says he grabbed her back and started sliding his hand down too. When she tried to brush off his hand, he used her hand to grope her.

McLemore rounded out the group with another accusation of groping.

Hill is maintaining his innocence, calling the allegations “materially inaccurate.”

A state ethics probe and criminal investigation wrapped up this fall concluded that the groping accusations were “credible” but that “no crime could be proven.”

“I don’t know what’s worse: To not be believed, or to be believed and have had no action taken,” Reardon told the Beast. “It’s not right that it’s our responsibility.”

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