What is it with politicians and sexual misconduct? Donald Trump’s alleged rampant sexual abuse appears to have opened the floodgates for other politicians to commit like crimes. A woman claimed that Pennsylvania state Representative Brian Ellis (R) assaulted a woman. She said that she believe she had been drugged. This is how it unfolded.
Both Ellis and the woman were in a bar. It seems, they were not in the same group. All of the sudden, the woman “took a hard fall,” according to PennLive.com.
Ellis knew the woman, because they both worked at the state Capitol. After she fell, the representative took her to his home. She alleged that was where the sexual assault took place. She also reported that she was so incapacitated, she could not give her consent to Ellis. The woman also had a concussion.
Pennsylvania state Victim Advocate Jennifer Storm worked with her and had this to say about the woman:
‘We want to make it very clear that she was not voluntarily intoxicated. This woman was incapacitated. She does believe that she was drugged and that she did seek medical attention the following day because she was in pain and she did indeed have a concussion and other injuries.’
Storm continued, saying the woman was “incredibly brave and courageous” to come forward against a such a powerful man:
‘As you can imagine, this is an incredibly scary and emotional experience and there are work factors at play… So I think she is an incredibly brave and courageous woman for wanting to come forward and wanting to protect other women in the Capitol building and wanting people to know who this guy really is.’
Storm talked to the House leadership about the woman. Although they appeared supportive, they have done nothing as of yet:
‘I would like to see Representative Ellis resign immediately because I don’t think he should be able to return to work. I don’t think he should be allowed to walk in that building.’
The Republicans said that they have received no formal complaint. The incident is under criminal investigation, though. The House GOP leaders released a joint statement that read:
‘The House Republican Caucus has zero tolerance for any instance of sexual violence or harassment.
‘Our caucus has not been contacted by any law enforcement agencies regarding any new or ongoing investigations. If criminal charges related to sexual violence or harassment are filed against one of our members, we would expect an immediate resignation.
‘Our caucus will fully cooperate with any law enforcement investigation, or request, and would take any allegation against one of our members with the utmost seriousness.’
The woman said that she saw another woman was being taken seriously when she came forward with allegations against a different politician. That gave her the courage to come forward, too.
Ellis has been a member of the Pennsylvania House since 2004 and easily won in the midterm elections with a 76 percent vote. He chairs the House Commerce Committee, but if the woman charges him, he would lose his chair immediately.
Ellis could be expelled from office with a full House vote.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
