Andrew Cuomo is being taken to court by one of the women who accused him of sexual harassment. Charlotte Bennett, who once worked as an aide to the former governor, filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday seeking damages for alleged gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation.
The 60-page suit alleges that throughout Bennett’s time working in the governor’s office, Cuomo “subjected her to sexualized comments about her appearance, assigned her humiliating and demeaning tasks, and beginning in early June 2020, subjected her to invasive and unwanted questions about her personal life, romantic and sexual relationships, and history as a survivor of sexual assault.”
The lawsuit also names Melissa DeRosa, one of Cuomo’s top staffers, Jill DesRosiers, his former chief of staff and Judith Mogul, who served as his special counsel.
“My career as a public servant was abruptly cut short because of Governor Cuomo’s 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 shared by her attorneys.
In a statement, Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, said the former governor has “always said he didn’t harass anyone” and claimed that evidence favorable to him has been suppressed. “What else will come out during the discovery process? We’ll see them in court,” she said.
Bennett first came forward with her accusations in early 2021 when she spoke to the New York Times. In that interview, she recalled the governor asking if she had ever had sex with older men and saying he would date a woman in her 20s.
Her claims about Cuomo were just some of the many reviewed and investigated by Attorney General Letitia James, resulting in her office’s bombshell report concluding that Cuomo had sexually harassed nearly a dozen different women, which led to his resignation from office.
