Harassment claim by lobbyist affirmed
SACRAMENTO — A state Assembly investigation has substantiated a Sacramento lobbyist’s allegation that a former lawmaker pushed her into a hotel bathroom and masturbated in front of her.
Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino (Los Angeles County), resigned in December after he was accused by lobbyist Pamela Lopez and two other women of sexual misconduct and harassment. The Assembly launched its investigation despite Dababneh’s resignation and released the findings Monday.
The only allegation addressed in the findings that were made public was the masturbation incident, which Lopez said happened in January 2016 at a Las Vegas party for mutual friends.
Lopez said Dababneh forced his way into a bathroom with her and urged her to touch his genitals.
“Before the ordeal ended, he told me not to tell anyone,” Lopez wrote in her complaint filed in December with the Assembly.
“So far it seems like the process is working,” Lopez said Monday. “I was sexually harassed by Dababneh, the Legislature conducted an investigation and substantiated that claim, and then denied his appeal. They opined twice that my claim is substantiated.”
Her allegation was among a tide of #MeToo complaints about sexual harassment in and around the state Capitol over the past year. Women said they did not have faith that their complaints would be taken seriously in the Senate or Assembly and that lawmakers’ misdeeds were often ignored.
After months of selfexamination, the Legislature adopted new policies and passed longstalled whistle-blower protections for their legislative employees.
Dababneh was one of three lawmakers who resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations, joining Assemblymen Raul Bocanegra, D-San Fernando Valley, and Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia (Los Angeles County).
Dababneh, who denies the allegations, appealed the investigator’s finding, but the Assembly wrote him last week to say his appeal was denied.
Dababneh filed a defamation lawsuit against Lopez this month, accusing her of fabricating the accusations that led to his resignation. Dababneh’s attorney, Patty Glaser, said her client has been “presumed guilty in this matter from the start, and was never given due process.”