Lawmaker Cleared Of Sexual Harassment Allegations

DEDHAM, MA — A special committee tasked with investigating allegations that State Rep. Paul McMurtry, D-Dedham, grabbed the backside of a female lawmaker during an orientation cocktail hour will not take disciplinary actions against the state representative.

The committee, led by Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo, concluded Wednesday that McMurtry didn't make "intentional contact" with a woman's backside while attending a cocktail party at the the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Dec. 13, the Boston Globe reported. The investigation came after four fellow House members reported the allegations to DeLeo.

"The Committee does not find, by preponderance of the evidence, that Representative McMurtry made intentional contact with the Alleged Recipient,” the committee's final report said.

McMurtry, who serves in the 11th Norfolk District (Dedham, Westwood, Walpole), denied the allegations and welcomed the investigation.

"Relative to my personal conduct, I can assure you the allegations are absolutely, positively, unequivocally not true," McMurtry said in a statement following the allegations.

According to state house rules governing sexual harassment allegations, intent is required to meet the threshold for harassment. The committee unanimously agreed there was insufficient evidence that McMurtry intentionally grabbed the woman's backside. The committee's investigation included 19 in-person interviews, as well as a review of security footage.

For more on this story, check out the Boston Globe

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