State Rep., Three Other Women Plan To Sue Indiana AG Curtis Hill

The four women say they were groped or sexually harassed by Hill during a crowded gathering at an Indianapolis bar last March.

State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon is among the women planning to file a civil suit against Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Four women who accuse Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of groping say they are preparing to file a civil lawsuit against Hill, the State of Indiana, and the Indiana Attorney General's Office.

“This is unacceptable behavior. Whether it rises to the level of criminal or not, that’s not the issue here. The report is clear about what occurred,” says Democratic State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon.

Reardon is among the women whom Hill allegedly groped while drunk at a party at an Indianapolis bar on the final night of the 2018 legislative session last March.

The other three victims were legislative staffers: Indiana Senate Republican Caucus legislative assistant Niki DaSilva, Indiana Senate Democrats communications director Gabrielle McLemore, and Indiana House Democrats legislative assistant Samantha Lozano.

“This morning I decided that enough was enough,” Lozano said. “Today we’re taking a step forward to make sure that this does not happen again, and that these types of behaviors are not permitted in the workplace or anywhere else.”

Reardon said the women will fight to make sure that women have the right to be safe in their workplace.

Attorney Hannah Kaufman Joseph announced the civil lawsuit intentions at a press conference after Special Prosecutor Dan Sigler announced Tuesday that Hill will not face any criminal charges in the case.

Four women who accused AG Curtis Hill of groping are preparing to file a civil lawsuit: https://t.co/YrS76QFpav pic.twitter.com/QZS0Xhgeoa

— Lindsey Erdody (@lerdody) October 23, 2018

Sigler said he believes the women, adding "From Hill's statement, he does not deny touching... but there's disagreement about the extent of it." He declined to file charges because the allegations of battery would be too hard to prove, he said.

Sigler did not interview Hill, but did review a video statement. The investigation also included interviews with 56 witnesses.

Hill had repeatedly denied that he groped the women. His attorneys, James H. Voyles and Jennifer M. Lukemeyer, released a statement after Sigler’s announcement, saying they never doubted that Hill would be cleared of any alleged crimes. 

“Special Prosecutor Sigler was charged with leading the investigation of the allegations and in doing so he worked closely with the Indiana Inspector General’s Office as well as the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.  Mr. Hill will continue to serve the people of Indiana in the capacity for which he was elected as the Indiana Attorney General,” they said.

Governor Eric Holcomb had called on Hill to resign following an Indianapolis Star article made the allegations public back in July. He said in a statement Tuesday that his position has not changed.

“I said I believed the women who stepped forward to report sexual harassment by the Indiana Attorney General. The special prosecutor agreed and said, ‘I have accepted the victim statements as true.’ The findings show a disregard of the executive branch zero tolerance harassment policy. My position has not changed,” Holcomb said.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, facing his own allegations of mistreatment of a woman, and Senate President Pro Temp David Long have also stood by their demand for Hill’s resignation.

Democratic House Minority Leader Terry Goodin (D-Austin) said everybody should read the Indiana Inspector General’s report on the attorney general’s behavior.

“Today’s announcement (by Sigler) does not change my belief that AG Hill should resign. It cements it,” he said.

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