One of the first women to accuse former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment filed a federal lawsuit against him this week.
Charlotte Bennett, a former Cuomo employee, is suing him for sexual harassment and discrimination.
Bennett has previously spoken publicly about her time working for the former governor as a short clerk between 2019 and 2020. In her lawsuit filed Wednesday, Bennett claims Cuomo made sexual comments about her appearance, gave her “ degrading and humiliating duties’ and asked her intrusion and unwanted questions about her romantic and sexual relationships, as well as her background as a sexual assault survivor.
The allegations in Bennett’s suit were prominently featured in an August 2021 report filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Her investigation, conducted at Cuomo’s request, backed up Bennett’s allegations and ultimately alleged that he had sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo resigned under pressure a week after James released her investigators’ findings, ending his 10-year tenure as governor. He was replaced by then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is now running for a first full term in the top job.
In the wake of his departure, Cuomo has repeatedly sought to undermine the investigation that led to his resignation and disputed accounts from alleged victims and other witnesses. He also accused James of conducting a biased investigation and, earlier this week, filed an ethics complaint against her.
In her lawsuit, Bennett claims that after she reported sexual harassment to Cuomo and expressed fear of retaliation by the then-governor, she was transferred to a “lower position” in a different department. She was not interviewed about her allegations until weeks later, the suit alleges, and Executive Chamber officials did not refer her sexual harassment complaint to the appropriate department for investigation.
“Ultimately, Ms. Bennett was forced to involuntarily resign from her employment with the State because her work environment had become intolerable,” the lawsuit alleges.
Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, said the former governor continues to deny Bennett’s allegations.
“The Governor has always said he did not harass anyone, and more and more information is being revealed every day showing how evidence favorable to the Governor was suppressed and critical facts that undermined the witness’s credibility were ignored or omitted,” Glavin said. statement to CNN in response to the lawsuit.
Debra Katz, Bennett’s attorney, referred to Glavin’s remark as “an ongoing form of retaliation.”
In her suit, Bennett claims she experienced “near-debilitating stress,” symptoms of depression and more as a direct result of Cuomo’s alleged harassment.
On Tuesday, Cuomo filed an ethics complaint against James and the two investigators he hired, accusing them of knowingly leaving out information in their report that cast doubt on the credibility of their witnesses and allowing errors in the report to go uncorrected.
Cuomo’s ethics complaint alleges inconsistencies between what Bennett told the governor’s special counsel and chief of staff about her interactions with the then-governor in the summer of 2020 and what she subsequently told attorney general investigators.
“Ms. Bennett never suggested to the Special Counsel in her conversations that I had ever made sexual advances toward her,” Cuomo said in his complaint. “In fact, when asked if I ever made any sexual advances, Ms. Bennett responded, “No””.
In her lawsuit, Bennett claims that after hours of testimony and the production of hundreds of pages of documents about the investigation, Cuomo “used the media platform to portray her as a liar and attempted to undermine her credibility.”
Former Cuomo aides Melissa DeRosa, Judith Mogul and Jill DeRosiers are also named in the suit. CNN has reached out to them for comment.
“My career as a public servant was cut short by Governor Cuomo and his top aides’ sexual harassment and retaliation against me after I complained about Governor Cuomo’s misconduct. They must all be held accountable for their actions,” Bennett said in a statement.
Bennett is seeking damages for economic loss, loss of future career opportunities and loss of future income, as well as emotional distress.
