Missouri Senate reviewed a sexual harassment complaint against Sen. Paul LeVota
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation, said the Senate’s investigation focused on an intern’s sexual harassment complaint. The details of the investigation had so far been kept largely secret.
LeVota has previously said only that the Senate was investigating after the interns’ departures. LeVota issued a statement to 41 Action News:
Recently, the Missouri Capitol was buzzing about the Speaker of the House and his relationship with an intern. Recently, there have been unconfirmed rumors about the interns in the Missouri Senate program and other interns in the Missouri House. I understand the need for universities to look into rumors, even unsubstantiated rumors. I would be open to any university taking a further look at the experience of any of my legislative interns. I had the honor of working with five students from several universities across the state this spring.
This session, after a month and a half, my chief of staff was notified by e-mail that the male and female interns from UCM for my office were needed back at school to work on other projects. I was never informed by the university, or by either intern, of any issues they experienced other than that. I had no reason to doubt what the university said in that e-mail and still have no reason to doubt that. And as of today, I have still never been informed by any intern or staff member of any incidents at all. The remaining three interns assigned to my office had a great experience and finished the session. None have voiced any issues in their internship, nor any report that either of the UCM interns had any problems.
This is my 11th year in the Missouri Capitol and I have had an amazing experience with the intern program with students from across the state over that decade with no problems at all. Now with the recent climate, rumors and speculation abound and I am upset that any of these young people that come to experience the legislative process would be subject to sensationalism.
He did not directly answer repeated questions about the nature of the investigation on Friday. He instead commented on a closed-door Senate Administration Committee meeting held Thursday that included a briefing by an attorney hired to help with a “workplace harassment complaint.”
“I didn’t know there was a meeting,” said LeVota, a Democrat from Independence. “I don’t know what the report said, any of that stuff.”
The committee voted unanimously to close the briefing with the attorney to the public. But Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey said after the meeting that he plans to release a report next week, including the attorney’s findings, the results of the internal Senate investigation and a statement on the matter.
The investigation came after two University of Central Missouri students left early from an internship for LeVota during the legislative session that ended in May. LeVota said in an earlier statement that his staff was notified that the interns left after about a month and a half of the session — which began in January — because they “were needed back at school to work on other projects.”
LeVota later told AP the investigation was focused on the interns’ departure.
Members of the Senate Administration Committee declined to comment to the AP on Friday about the extent of the investigation or did not return calls seeking comment.
From kshbtv.com
Post a Comment