Account details Indiana official’s alleged groping
Staffer says AG moved hands down her back
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana legislative staffer on Thursday became the third woman — and first Republican — to publicly accuse state Attorney General Curtis Hill of groping her at a party, saying the Republican office-holder slid his hand down her back and touched her buttocks when she reached to push his hand away.
Niki Dasilva is a legislative assistant for the Indiana Senate Republican Caucus. She wrote in The Indianapolis Star that she is the “Employee A” mentioned in a legislative memo leaked to media outlets that describes Hill’s alleged drunken groping of four women at an Indianapolis bar.
Dasilva wrote that the allegations that Hill groped her, two other legislative staffers and a state lawmaker early on March 15 at a bar party celebrating the end of the legislative session are serious.
“This is not a witch hunt, nor is it a political issue. This is an issue of respect, safety and basic human rights,” she wrote, saying Hill’s alleged actions that night reflect “a deliberate pattern of unacceptable behavior.”
Hill, who was elected to a four-year term in 2016, has denied the allegations and rebuffed calls to resign.
In a statement, Hill said Dasilva’s accusation was “coordinated and changed under the direction of others.” He said his latest accuser, in an email, asked a close friend for input on whether there were grammatical errors or phrases that need to be “changed, strengthened or eliminated.”
“It’s clear that the integrity of this investigation is compromised,” he said.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and Statehouse GOP leaders last week called on Hill to resign, and Indiana’s inspector general, Lori Torres, is investigating the claims. A special prosecutor will review her findings to determine whether Hill will face charges.
Indiana’s constitution allows for a public official to be removed from office “for crime, incapacity or negligence” either by “impeachment by the House of Representatives, to be tried by the Senate” or by a “joint resolution of the General Assembly” with two-thirds voting in favor.
Two Democrats, state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon and Gabrielle Mclemore, the Indiana Senate Democrats’ communications director, last week accused Hill of inappropriately touching them at the party.
Dasilva wrote that she was waiting to be served a drink when Hill asked her and other women why they were standing at the bar.
“We answered that we were waiting to order a drink and Attorney General Hill, without hesitation, remarked, ‘Ah, come on ladies!’” she wrote. “‘You’ve got to show a little skin!’”
Dasilva said that at one point, Hill put his hand on her back.
“I felt his hand start to slide slowly down my back. I didn’t want to bring attention to his actions, so I tried to push his hand away inconspicuously using my free hand,” she wrote.
“When our hands met, instead of taking this nudge as a cue to remove his hand from my lower back, he grabbed my hand and moved both of our hands over my butt, lingering there before releasing me.”