Mayor Joseph Maturo Accuser Will Not File Criminal Charges

East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. has been hit with allegations that he sexually harassed a female Town Hall employee, but he won’t face criminal charged over his alleged behavior.

The employee’s attorney John L. Williams, of New Haven, told WTNH News 8 that they are not pursuing criminal charges against Maturo.

“Civil courts are the place where people resolve their disputes including over bad conduct. There’s a lot of bad conduct in the world and we can’t be making arrests of everybody. I know there’s a long tradition in East Haven of arresting mayors but I don’t think it’s right,” Williams told News 8.

The female employee filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities requesting an investigation into Maturo’s alleged behavior.

In the complaint she alleges, Maturo used sexually graphic language, repeatedly grabbed his crotch, and exposed himself to her. Read the detailed allegations here.

Maturo in a prepared statement released late Thursday blasted the employee saying he was “saddened” by the complaint and added it is “patently false allegations contained in that filing.”

Maturo labeled the employee as a “disgruntled employee who was on the verge of being terminated.” The mayor said the woman “chose to address her employment problems by filing a salacious complaint against me and the Town of East Haven.”

In Maturo’s statement he vows that the complaint will not distract him from running the town.

“Most importantly, I wish to assure the residents of East Haven that my team and I will not allow this matter to deter or distract us from efficiently managing the day-to-day business of the Town. Our team has worked hard to provide residents with efficient, accountable, and reliable government and will continue to do so,” Maturo said.

Maturo also said “With regard to the complaint itself, I am confident that as this legal process unfolds, further investigation will prove all of (the) allegations to be both unmerited and false.

Again, I am disappointed that (the employee) has opted to engage in this course of antagonistic litigation. However, I will respect this legal process and defer any further legal comments to the attorneys handling this matter on behalf of the Town,” Maturo said in his statement.