A former congressional staffer alleged Wednesday that Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) groped her at a party in 2014, according to CNN.
Rory Riley-Topping, who was previously a subcommittee staff director for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, told the network that Hunter approached her at a bar after a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner.
{mosads}”Duncan Hunter had told me that he wanted to talk to me about Agent Orange, which is an issue the committee was dealing with at the time. I politely said, ‘Great. I’ll get in touch with your staff.’ And he kind of leaned in and said, ‘No, I want to talk to you about it,’ and had reached over and pulled himself in very close with his hand on my behind,” Riley-Topping told CNN.
Riley-Topping said she told then-Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) “This is gross. This is what happened: Duncan Hunter just grabbed my ass. I don’t want to be here anymore,” according to CNN.
Two former colleagues, as well as her then-fiancé, told CNN she also told them about the alleged incident soon after.
Riley-Topping told the network she did not report the incident to her supervisors because such behavior was commonplace on Capitol Hill at the time.
“This kind of stuff happens all the time. Even though it was something that felt inappropriate, it also unfortunately didn’t seem unusual and I felt I was not physically injured, I wasn’t raped,” she told CNN.
The allegations come the same week prosecutors alleged in a court filing that Hunter supported five extramarital affairs using campaign funds. He was indicted in August on charges of wire fraud, falsifying records and campaign finance violations, and has pleaded not guilty.
Hunter’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.