An internal probe has found a former top adviser to Washington, D.C., Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser made unwelcome sexual advances on five separate occasions toward a District government employee.
A report the Bowser administration released Monday — and posted by Fox5 — reported the Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel substantiated a female staffer's claim that John Falcicchio, the mayor's closest adviser until his March 17 resignation, sexually harassed her in 2020 at his apartment where she went “at his direction for work-related reasons.”
In June, a separate probe substantiated another employee's allegations that Falcicchio sexually harassed her and sent her lewd and explicit messages, the Washington Post noted.
Falcicchio, 44, served as Bowser's chief of staff and deputy mayor for planning and economic development.
According to the newly released report, Falcicchio initially agreed to answer an investigator's questions, but then “canceled” the interview and declined requests to respond to the second woman's allegations.
Lawyers Debra Katz and Kayla Morin, who represent both of Falcicchio's accusers, said in a statement the second probe's finding establishes “a disturbing and longstanding pattern of predatory behavior by one of the most powerful men in Washington,” the Post reported.
The lawyers are urging the District “to implement immediate and comprehensive reforms to safeguard others from being treated in this reprehensible manner.”
Neither Falcicchio nor his lawyer, Grace Speights, responded to requests for comment, the Post reported.
A summary of the second probe adds new detail to a scandal that's dogged the mayor since the two women filed complaints in March before Falcicchio's sudden departure, the Post noted.
The second accuser made a total of four allegations against Falcicchio, two of which were substantiated, according to the MOLC summary. Like the first accuser, the woman worked in the deputy mayor's office for planning and economic development that Falcicchio headed.
The two accusers' complaints against Falcicchio prompted Bowser in March to direct her legal counsel's office to investigate, the Post reported.
But even before the second probe was completed, the mayor insisted an outside investigation was unnecessary given that the sexual harassment charges were substantiated and Falcicchio had resigned, the news outlet noted. She also has warned an outside probe would cost taxpayer funds.
Falcicchio's first accuser told the Post in several interviews that he twice sought to have sex with her in his apartment, including once when he masturbated in front of her. That woman also told the Post Falcicchio sent her lewd and explicit messages, including a video of himself masturbating.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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