Woman Details Rape Claims Against Murphy Staffer In New Report

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he's launching an investigation into a woman's claims that she was raped by a top staffer – yet the man still found a way to get a job in the Murphy administration.

"I wish we never made the hire in transition," Murphy said during a press conference on Monday. "I'm sick to my stomach."

Murphy said former Supreme Court Justice Peter Venerio will run the investigation now that lawmakers have called for hearings since the woman has gone public with the details of her rape allegations. The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is also now investigating the case, state officials said.

Murphy avoided taking responsibility himself, saying the system should have worked better for the woman who made the accusations. The governor said he and his wife, Tammy, were not aware of the allegations until Oct. 2.

"We must lead and prove that commitment" to make the right hiring decisions, Murphy said. "Words are not enough."

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean and Sen. Kristin Corrado said new details of an alleged sexual assault by the former Murphy campaign worker and staffer reinforce the need for legislative hearings into the administration’s hiring practices.

The details provided by Katie Brennan that were reported in The Wall Street Journal this weekend show the difficulties experienced by the victim in seeking justice, and "should prompt a review of New Jersey’s criminal and civil statutes regarding sexual assault," the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

Brennan, who volunteered for the Murphy campaign last year and is now the chief of staff at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, has accused Albert J. Alvarez of sexual assault. Alvarez, 44, of Wood-Ridge was hired as the chief of staff for the Schools Development Authority even though, according to published reports, he was accused of sexual assault while serving on the governor's campaign.

Alvarez recently resigned earlier this month, according to Politico, which first broke the story about the alleged sexual assault.

Murphy said he and his wife "admire Katie's bravery" and planned to meet with her later Monday.

Democrats also issued a joint statement in response to the governor’s decision to launch a probe into allegations of sexual assault.

The conduct and behavior that has been alleged "cannot be ignored and the claims of the survivors must be taken seriously," according to the statement from Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, Senator Paul Sarlo, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, Senator Sandra Cunningham and Senator Nick Scutari.

"If true, these are abuses of power that leave victims in their wake. The impact of any abuse is made worse by any failure to fully respond," the statement read.

The people of New Jersey deserve a full and straightforward accounting of what happened during the campaign, what carried forward into the transition and what continued into the administration," according to the statement.

"The unanswered questions multiply with each new allegation and assertion. We need to have a full accounting of what occurred, what complaints or accusations were made, what was done to get the full truth and what actions were taken in response,” according to the statement.

Kean and Corrado said new details of an alleged sexual assault by a former Murphy staffer reinforce the need for legislative hearings, and they called for a review of New Jersey’s criminal and civil statutes regarding sexual assault.

“The sexual assault alleged by Ms. Brennan was just the beginning of a story that is both heartbreaking and all too common among the victims of sex crimes,” said Kean. “Despite taking every reasonable step that a person subject to such a traumatic assault could be expected to take, Ms. Brennan was unable to find justice in either a court of law or with her employer. This should serve as a call to action for the Legislature to address these issues immediately.”

Alvarez's attorney, John Hogan, told the Journal that his client "absolutely, positively" denies these allegations of sexual assault and declined further comment.

Communications Director Sharon Lauchaire in the Office of Attorney General also released a statement, saying the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office recently received a media inquiry about a criminal investigation involving Alvarez.

HCPO obtained and reviewed the case file, which showed that the investigation of Alvarez was opened and closed in 2017. The file further indicated that the matter was investigated by career detectives and reviewed by veteran special victims prosecutors, according to the statement.

During that review of the file earlier this month, however, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez realized she personally knew both the complainant and the subject of the investigation, according to the statement.

Although these personal relationships "in no way affected the investigation that was conducted in 2017," Suarez decided – out of an abundance of caution – to request that the OAG supersede the case, according to the statement. The OAG agreed to that request and re-assigned the matter to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office last week.

MCPO detectives are reviewing the case file and will take any additional investigative steps they deem appropriate, according to the statement.

The alleged incident occurred in April 2017 after a gathering of campaign staffers in Jersey City, according to the Journal story. Brennan said Alvarez offered to drive her home and asked to use her bathroom and have a drink of water; but once inside, Alvarez forced himself on her.

Brennan told The Journal she told him to stop,and she managed to kick him off her and locked herself in the bathroom. She showed how she reported the attack to local police the next day and went to the Jersey City Medical Center emergency room, and then she tried inform high-ranking members of the governor’s transition team, his administration, and Murphy himself of the assault, the lawmakers said.

Despite reporting the assault to law enforcement, criminal charges were never filed, according to reports.

“If Ms. Brennan cannot achieve justice after bravely coming forward, repeatedly, then what message does that send to other women, especially those with fewer resources?” asked Corrado. “This incident shows that Governor Murphy has set a standard of tolerance for sexual assaulters as long as they haven’t been charged or his top staff believe it’s acceptable to hire such people. Either way, as the Governor likes to say, ‘the buck stops’ with him. A criminal justice system, where the victim does everything right, that isn’t capable of prosecuting sexual assaults effectively is clearly broken. This administration and this state must do better in protecting the victims of sexual assault.”

Here is Murphy's press conference:

Governor Murphy photo