Cuomo Is Accused of Sexual Harassment by a 2nd Former Aide - The New York Times

Andrew Cuomo asked if she “had ever been with an older man.”.

Cuomo is accusing him of sexual harassment, saying that he asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men.

The aide, Charlotte Bennett, who was an executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration until she left in November, told The New York Times that the governor had harassed her late last spring, during the height of the state’s fight against the coronavirus.

Bennett, 25, said the most unsettling episode occurred on June 5, when she was alone with Mr.

In a series of interviews this week, she said the governor had asked her numerous questions about her personal life, including whether she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, and had said that he was open to relationships with women in their 20s — comments she interpreted as clear overtures to a sexual relationship.

Cuomo said in a statement to The Times on Saturday that he believed he had been acting as a mentor and had “never made advances toward Ms.

Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” He said he had requested an independent review of the matter and asked that New Yorkers await the findings “before making any judgments.”.

Bennett said that during the June encounter, the governor, 63, also complained to her about being lonely during the pandemic, mentioning that he “can’t even hug anyone,” before turning the focus to Ms.

Cuomo asked her, “Who did I last hug?”.

“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Ms.

Bennett said.

Bennett said she had also given a lengthy statement to a special counsel to the governor, Judith Mogul, toward the end of June.

Bennett said she ultimately decided not to insist on an investigation because she was happy in her new job and “wanted to move on.” No action was taken against the governor.

“The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported,” the governor said.

The governor did not deny that he asked Ms.

Bennett personal questions; he said in the statement that he would have no further comment until the review concluded.

Bennett’s account follows another detailed accusation published on Wednesday by Lindsey Boylan, a former state economic development official who said that Mr.

She said she felt an obligation to other victims of sexual harassment and wanted to counter the way Mr.

Bennett said she had told her parents and friends about the exchange with the governor around the time that it happened, as well as about her growing discomfort with having to work closely with him, and had kept text messages from that period.

“We got along really well,” she said of the governor.

Cuomo, she said, would sometimes ask questions about her dating life that she said seemed inappropriate but not necessarily unmanageable.

Bennett said she was asked in late March to begin working in Albany as part of the state’s Covid-19 response effort.

When they finished, she said, he asked her to turn off her recorder, and he began a winding conversation that touched on the Black Lives Matter protests and his daily news conferences.

Bennett said, the governor also started to ask questions about her personal life, including whether she was romantically involved, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and whether she had ever had sex with older men.

Bennett went on to say to her friend, who confirmed the texts’ content and validity but asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, that she and the governor had just spoken “about age differences in relationships.”.

Bennett wrote that the governor had asked her whether she was having sex with other people “while in my recent relationships.”.

Bennett, who had just turned 25 at the time, said Mr.

Cuomo had also asked about her feelings about age differences in relationships, saying “age doesn’t matter,” according to a text she sent to her friend.

Bennett said, the governor also noted that he felt “he’s fine with anyone above the age of 22,” a point that came up after they discussed her speech at Hamilton on what was her 25th birthday.

Bennett said: “That’s absolutely how it felt.”.

Bennett said that she had felt deeply uncomfortable with Mr.

She said Mr.

Bennett’s, a former Cuomo administration official, said he had spoken to her shortly after the June 5 episode.

Bennett told her parents about the encounter within days, her mother recalled, saying her daughter had made a special visit home to do so.

Bennett said she spoke to Mr.

She said the meeting, in Ms.

Bennett said she had recounted her interaction with Mr.

DesRosiers had asked a few questions, been apologetic and asked to speak to her again in two days.

Bennett said Ms.

Cuomo’s reaction: “I just said I didn’t want him to find out and get mad.”.

In a statement on Saturday, Beth Garvey, another special counsel to the governor, said that “Ms