FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2016, file photo, state Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, listens at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. The Los Angeles-area state senator is being investigated for allegations he engaged in inappropriate behavior toward a young female staffer. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Republished November 12, 2017 - 12:06 AM
Original Publication Date November 11, 2017 - 11:36 AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A second woman is accusing a California state lawmaker of misconduct in 2008 when she was a 19-year-old intern in his district office.
The Sacramento Bee reported Saturday night that the woman, Jennifer Kwart, came forward after reports this week of Democratic Sen. Tony Mendoza being under investigation for sexual harassment of a female employee.
A Mendoza spokesman said the latest allegations were "completely false."
Now 28, Kwart told the Bee that at the party's 2008 convention, Mendoza made her feel uncomfortable when he asked her about ex-boyfriends and her personal life while the two were alone in his hotel suite.
Later Mendoza introduced her to two state lawmakers and their side glances bothered her. Kwart said "I had this overwhelming feeling that they knew about me." That night she called her mother, who booked a flight to return home to Los Angeles the next day.
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Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017