The anonymous individual who has made sexual harassment allegations against the former deputy mayor of Washington D.C. has detailed those allegations in a new interview.
The interview - the first of its kind - was conducted by The Washington Post.
The man accused of the wrongdoing is John Falcicchio. Falcicchio is the former deputy mayor of Washington D.C. He is also the former chief of staff to current Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D).
Thus far, the accuser has only been identified as a recently-hired staff member who is a female in her 20s.
Falcicchio abruptly resigned from his governmental position on March 17 after sexual harassment allegations were made against him.
An investigation into the matter was launched by Bowser's Office of Legal Counsel, and, on June 17, the office released a report detailing its findings.
The Washington Examiner reports:
[The investigation] substantiated that he made "physical sexual advances" and "inappropriate messages" but was not able to substantiate other allegations such as sexual or attraction-based favoritism, bullying, demotion, retaliatory interactions, or threatening behavior.
Bowser has condemned Falcicchio's actions, calling them "wrong."
But, at the same time, Bowser, herself, has been facing criticism, with many arguing that Falcicchio ought to be investigated by someone independent of Bowser's circle.
In an interview with the Post, the anonymous accuser provided more details about the way in which Falcicchio allegedly sexually harassed her.
The Post's report begins with an account of an incident that allegedly took place last September. Apparently, the accuser - "eager to have one-on-one time with a man whose two high-powered titles" - went to a bar with Falcicchio, got drunk, and ended up at Falcicchio's apartment, where he tried to kiss her. This was the accuser's first encounter with Falcicchio.
After that, the accuser told the Post that Falcicchio "twice sought to have sex with her at his apartment, including once when he masturbated in front of her." The accuser told the Post that Falcicchio sent her videos of himself masturbating as well as other explicit text messages.
The Post reports that "the woman provided the Post screenshots of hundreds of electronic communications that she said she and Falcicchio exchanged, most of them through Snapchat."
The woman told the Post that, while she never had sexual relations with Falcicchio, she "feigned interest" in order to keep her job and to document Falcicchio's alleged misconduct. Falcicchio, at the time of this writing, has not responded to the Post interview.
