Letitia James is accused of shielding her aide from harassment allegations

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New York Attorney General Letitia James continued to employ his longtime chief of staff despite his known propensity to sexually harass and commit sexual assault and battery, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by a former aide. of Mrs. James.

Former aide Sofia Quintanar has taken legal action against Ms James, her campaign, the Attorney General’s Office and Ibrahim Khan, Ms James’ former chief of staff who quit amid an investigation into charges of groping and kissing Ms. Quintanar and at least one other former employee of Ms. James’s office against their will.

The lawsuit, filed in both Manhattan State Supreme Court and the State Claims Court, seeks damages for loss of income, embarrassment and pain and suffering Ms Quintanar said they endured as a result of the incident.

The filing, which chronicles allegations backed by an outside law firm hired by Ms James’s office, accuses the office of protecting Mr Khan by allowing him to resign without being fired and of lying to the media about why he was absent . Office.

With the filing of this lawsuit, I hope to increase the visibility and strength of women of color with a voice in the #MeToo movement, Ms. Quintanar, 33, said in a statement to The New York Times, which reported her allegations. last week. . We are less likely to come forward in these situations because those in positions of power have historically thought less of us.

Ms. Quintanars’ attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, has suggested that Ms. James and her office violated state human rights law because they failed to comply with a duty not to employ people who they know or should have known might engage in sexual harassment.

I think there is in fact compelling evidence that Tish James knew or should have known of his conduct and propensity and that he should have taken steps to ensure that this did not happen, said Mr. Wigdor. Whether it’s not hiring him or not taking him off sites without supervision or terminating his employment.

Ms James’s office and Mr Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but last week Mr Khan, through his lawyer, denied the allegations of abuse. Ms. James said that she was unaware of Mr. Khan’s conduct, but that she handled this matter as aggressively as any other matter that came before our office and that she believed Ms. Quintanar’s allegation and took it very seriously.

I am deeply disappointed with him. And there is no excuse for his behavior. None, Ms James said in an interview with NY1 last week. I believe these women. I believe their claims. And it’s just, it pisses me off.

Ms Quintanar, a former deputy press secretary to Ms James who left the attorney general’s office in 2021, told The Times she met Mr Khan, her former colleague, at a political fundraiser in Brooklyn in November 2021. She said Mr Khan aggressively grabbed her by the shoulder and rammed his tongue forcefully down my throat as they were outside the bar discussing politics.

In a statement to the New York Post this week, Ms Quintanar said her issue was never with Attorney General Letitia James or the way the investigation was conducted. Mr Wigdor said the comments referred to the investigation and not Ms James’ underlying conduct or what she ultimately allowed Mr Khan to do on his impending exit.

The lawsuit claims Ms James and her office had kept Mr Khan despite his known pattern of sexual assault and sexual harassment of women. The complaint stems from the fact that Mr Khan had previously been charged with sexual assault when he worked as Ms James’s chief of staff in the public attorneys’ office.

In 2017, The Post reported that a former office worker accused Mr Khan of drugging and sexually assaulting her at a holiday party. The allegation was investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the City’s Investigative Department. Both have closed their investigations without filing a complaint.

The story about the incident is no longer available on The Posts website, and the newspaper, in a later story about Mr Khan, said the story was removed because the newspaper learned that the woman had no recollection of the identity of the attacker and did not identify Mr. Khan as his attacker. A spokeswoman for The Post declined to comment further.

Ms James, in her NY1 interview, said the allegations in the Post article had been investigated and found to be unsubstantiated.

The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Khan violated both city and state human rights laws and that Mr. Khan is liable for battery.

Ms James’ office was made aware of the allegations against Mr Khan on October 2, according to a timetable released by the office. On October 3, Mr Khan was informed that he would have to start working remotely. The next day, the bureau hired the law firm Littler Mendelson to conduct an independent investigation.

Mr Khan tendered his resignation on November 22 and a note from the office’s human resources director said his resignation would take effect on December 31, but that Mr Khan ceased involvement in any official office matters on December 2 . , on the same day, The Times first reported the allegations against him. The suit notes that Ms Quintanar had also requested an update on the status of the investigation on November 22, a message which was reviewed by The Times.

Jonah E. Bromwich and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.

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