The former chief of staff for Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser “more likely than not” engaged in sexual harassment of a female staff member, a city investigation into the matter has revealed.
The Bowser administration was able to verify two out of eight claims that 44-year-old John Falcicchio “engaged in unwanted physical sexual advances” towards a female staff member which included the transmission of sexually explicit text messages as well as graphic videos, NBC Washington reported Sunday.
Mayor’s Legal Counsel finds Former Chief of Staff to @MayorBowser “more likely than not committed sexual harassment” against a female staffer. Investigation substantiated 2 of the 8 allegations against @falcicchio . @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/8PF0mqWgT0
— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) June 18, 2023
Falcicchio resigned from his post in March, a week prior to the start of the investigation led by the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel. At the time of his resignation, Bowser said his departure prompted the investigation, the circumstances of which were “sensitive” and included “privacy concerns.” (RELATED: Texas GOP Rep Accused Of Sexual Harassment Resigns Ahead Of Expulsion Vote)
Debra Katz, the attorney representing Falcicchio’s accuser, told The Washington Post she was “gratified” that some of the sexual harassment allegations were substantiated by the investigation. “Overall, we expect that the District will now have to face the fact that someone this high up in the administration was permitted to treat our client in this reprehensible fashion,” Katz continued. “Clearly, reforms need to be implemented at once.”
Among the allegations left unsubstantiated by the investigation were claims that Falcicchio “orchestrated” his senior staff to treat his accuser poorly and “retaliated against her for denying his sexual advances by ‘manipulating her at work, at times pulling her off staffing for certain events and shunning her,” The Washington Post reported. Also left unverified were claims the woman was demoted to a different unit after rejecting Falcicchio’s alleged advances.
Once the woman filed her complaint, she further argued she was “treated differently” at work, accusing planning and economic development “senior staff” of “actively retaliating against” her by keeping her off certain emails and “removing” her from projects she was “designated to lead.” These claims were also left unverified by the investigators, according to The Washington Post. Sources familiar with the matter reportedly told NBC Washington the investigation’s findings are not expected to be referred for a criminal investigation even as authorities continue to investigate allegations leveled at Falcicchio from a second woman.