Second aide accuses gov of harass

A second former aide to Gov. Cuomo accuses him of sexual harassment, saying the governor asked several questions about her sex life and made her feel “horribly uncomfortable and scared.”

Charlotte Bennett, who was a health policy adviser and executive assistant to the governor, made the allegations in an interview published Saturday by The New York Times.

Bennett, 25, told the newspaper that Cuomo asked her if she’d ever had a relationship with an older man and whether she thought age made a difference in relationships.

The 63-year-old governor also told Bennett at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that he was lonely and looking for a girlfriend, that he was open to relationships with women in their 20s, and spoke to her about her past sexual assault in a manner which felt like “something out of a horror movie.”

Bennett, who began working for the state in March and has since left, said Cuomo never touched her. But, she told the Times, “I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me ... And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.”

Bennett (photo) provided texts sent to friends and colleagues backing up her concerns about Cuomo’s behavior toward her back in June.

She also alerted the governor’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, at the time, took a different job within the administration that involved less direct contact with Cuomo and didn’t push for an investigation.

A statement by Cuomo said “Ms. Bennett was a hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID. She has every right to speak out.”

“I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate,” he said. “The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.”

Bennett said her discomfort with the situation smoldered over time and she decided to speak out after seeing another former Cuomo aide, Lindsey Boylan, share her story in a lengthy essay published Wednesday.

The governor’s office said it will launch an “independent review” into Bennett’s allegations that will be led by ex-federal Judge Barbara Jones.

Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan) and Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx) both called on Cuomo to resign.