Assemblyman Reprimanded For 'Locker Room Talk,' Cleared Of Sexual Assault
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Assemblyman Devon Mathis was reprimanded last month for making sexual comments, including about fellow lawmakers, according to a letter released Wednesday.
The letter from the Assembly Rules Committee to Mathis says his comments violated the chamber's sexual harassment policy.
The Assembly letter gave no details about Mathis' comments but described them as "locker room talk."
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Mathis, a Visalia Republican, apologized in a statement. "The locker-room conversation referenced in the letter, that took place almost four years ago, was wrong," he said.
Mathis said the Assembly found "no wrongdoing of any sexual misconduct," referencing another part of the letter that says another misconduct claim was unsubstantiated. The letter doesn't give details about that claim.
Mathis' office said the unsubstantiated allegation stemmed from a political blog post. The post accused Mathis of sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior based on an anonymous interview with a person who claimed to have knowledge of it.
Sacramento police spokeswoman Linda Matthew said last year that investigators found no evidence to support criminal charges against Mathis.
A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Lakewood Democrat, says Mathis will be required to complete sensitivity training and instruction on the Assembly's sexual misconduct policy.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.