Woman accuses New York state senator of sexual misconduct

A former staffer on Wednesday accused a New York state senator of forcibly kissing her in 2015.

Erica Vladimer told Huffington Post that New York Sen. Jeff Klein (D) “shoved his tongue” down her throat while she was working on his staff.

She said the incident took place when she went out for drinks with Klein, state Sen. Diane Savino (D) and several other staffers. Klein and Savino were dating at the time.

Vladimer claims Klein forced himself on her when the two stepped outside for a cigarette.

{mosads}She acknowledged to The Huffington Post that nobody else saw the alleged incident, but told a friend about it later that night.

Vladimer left her role a month later, she told The Huffington Post.

Klein, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester counties, held a conference call Wednesday afternoon to pre-emptively deny that the incident occurred, according to local media.

“Nobody there that night saw anything inappropriate happen because nothing did. Those are the facts. I want to make it very clear to everyone,” Klein said.

Savino also spoke during the conference call, and said she did not see any inappropriate behavior, according to Spectrum News.

Klein said he will not step down following the accusation.

Klein is the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, a subset of Democratic state senators in New York who often vote with Republicans.

The allegations against Klein come as numerous women have come forward in recent months to allege sexual misconduct against high profile celebrities and politicians.

In 2017, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and several state lawmakers stepped down or announced plans to retire after being accused of sexual misconduct.