WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Another former staffer for Congressman John Conyers, D-Mich., has accused the longtime lawmaker of sexual harassment.
Deanna Maher, who ran a Michigan office for Conyers from 1997 to 2005, told the Detroit News the congressman made three unwanted sexual advances toward her, including inappropriate touching.
Maher said the first instance of harassment happened in September of 1997, when she rejected Conyers' offer to share his room at the Grand Hyatt in Washington and have sex.
The other incidents involved unwanted touching in a car in 1998 and another unwanted touching of her legs under her dress in 1999, Maher told the Detroit News.
Conyers' attorney Arnold Reed argued Maher's allegations are uncorroborated and questioned why she would continue to work for the congressman for so many years after the alleged incidents.
'At the end of the day, he's confident that he will be exonerated because he maintains that he has not done anything wrong,' Reed said.
Maher told the Detroit News her need for employment and Conyers' status as a powerful Democratic lawmaker explains why she stayed on the job.
Conyers announced Sunday he was stepping down as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee amid an investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that a former employee was fired because she would not succumb to his sexual advances.
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