Judge finds sexual assault claim against Colorado lawmaker “incredible,” casting doubt on allegations
For greater than a yr, state Rep. Leslie Herod has confronted public allegations of sexual assault made by one other lady who’s lively in Colorado Democratic politics, together with some leveled in social media posts when Herod was working for Denver mayor.
Now Herod says she feels vindicated after a Denver County Court docket choose final month solid doubt on the accuser’s allegations, together with the alleged assault just a few years in the past, by discovering her testimony was not credible. The choose dominated in opposition to the accuser throughout a listening to referred to as after she requested a safety order in opposition to Herod, in keeping with a court docket transcript supplied to The Denver Put up, denying accuser Sheena Kadi’s request for a everlasting order. As an alternative, the choose granted a safety order to the state lawmaker.
The order requires that Kadi make no contact with Herod or publish any social media posts to or in regards to the lawmaker. It additionally requires that Kadi stay 100 yards away from Herod always, besides when Kadi is on the Capitol for work functions or at occasions accepted by the treasurer or by the Democratic Nationwide Committee. In these work situations, Kadi should stay at the least 25 yards away from Herod, in keeping with the document.
Two half-day hearings in February culminated in Choose Clarisse Gonzales declaring that the proof of threats or violence introduced in opposition to Herod had been unsubstantiated. In her ruling from the bench on Feb. 12, Gonzales mentioned the accuser’s testimony was “unimaginable on 100% of the information that had been asserted.”
“I’m grateful that there was a course of to have my voice be heard,” Herod instructed The Put up in an interview. “It simply by no means ought to have gotten thus far.”
Herod’s legal professional, Harvey Steinberg, supplied a replica of the 12-page transcript, which is an excerpt from the proceedings that covers solely the choose’s detailed oral ruling.
Kadi is a spokesperson for the Colorado Treasurer’s Workplace and is the vice chair of public relations and advertising for the Colorado Democratic Occasion. She beforehand frequented the Colorado State Capitol as deputy director of One Colorado, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Reached Sunday, Kadi didn’t reply to particular questions in regards to the ruling. When supplied with a direct quote from the choose’s ruling, Kadi mentioned she hadn’t seen or learn the court docket transcript. She has beforehand declined to remark to The Put up in regards to the allegations she posted on social media.
Whereas The Put up sometimes doesn’t determine alleged victims of sexual assault, it’s naming Kadi as a result of she has made the accusations in opposition to Herod so publicly.
Kadi didn’t identify Herod in all her social media posts or give particulars on the conduct she was alleging. However the connection to Herod was usually clear. And in a since-deleted assertion posted by Kadi in December on X, previously often known as Twitter, she named Herod, alleging the lawmaker had sexually assaulted her and wouldn’t “personal up” to it. She additionally mentioned she’d been doxxed, threatened and harassed since coming ahead.
Herod mentioned she first heard in regards to the allegations in opposition to her in June 2022, and that Kadi harassed her by taking footage and movies of her at occasions and calling her a sexual abuser. Herod mentioned her colleagues within the legislature have tried to make use of the allegations in opposition to her by citing them on the Capitol.
Herod herself addressed the allegations publicly a number of instances in latest weeks.
When lawmakers had been debating a invoice that might defend sexual assault victims from shaming in court docket, Herod zeroed in on a provision associated to using a previous historical past of false experiences in opposition to a sufferer throughout a flooring speech, referencing Kadi’s accusations in opposition to her.
She mentioned it was vital to permit sure info in court docket that might assist an individual defending themselves.
Herod once more requested pointed questions in a committee listening to earlier this month associated to office harassment investigations. She confirmed to The Put up that she discovered an investigation launched final yr in opposition to her was based mostly on a criticism filed by Kadi. Herod mentioned the investigation was later dropped and she or he has not been capable of get hold of the information associated to it. She additionally needed to pay for authorized counsel out of pocket, she mentioned.
Herod mentioned false assault allegations are widespread in opposition to Black individuals in elected positions, however she didn’t anticipate it to occur to her.
“It was extraordinarily painful to see,” she mentioned within the interview. “It was extraordinarily surprising to see these forms of allegations introduced in opposition to me. It’s dangerous as a result of, fairly frankly, I’ve all the time fought for individuals, for girls, and to consider ladies and people who’ve been sexually assaulted or harassed. And I might by no means even put myself in a state of affairs the place that may very well be a problem — and I didn’t.”
She additionally referred to as for an finish to false narratives that queer elected officers are abusers.
Kadi’s preliminary request within the Denver court docket for a restraining order in opposition to Herod stemmed from an incident on Jan. 10, by which Kadi mentioned Herod “bodily intimidated me by coming into my private area in my workplace, in a method that made me scared for my bodily security.” She additionally mentioned she was assaulted in Herod’s dwelling on Dec. 18, 2019, and listed different dates of incidents that she mentioned included violence or threats. She alleged that Herod flirted along with her and made advances towards her.
Throughout her testimony in February, in keeping with the choose’s ruling, Kadi mentioned she went to Herod’s dwelling on the evening of the alleged assault and that Herod pushed herself onto Kadi.
Herod denied the entire claims in opposition to her and mentioned that the evening Kadi went to her dwelling was really in June 2020, after Kadi had left One Colorado and was not participating in legislative advocacy on the Capitol. She mentioned Kadi had been pursuing her.
And Herod mentioned she and Kadi “made out one time,” however she mentioned she indicated to Kadi that she wasn’t enthusiastic about the rest.
The court docket additionally reviewed textual content messages that the choose mentioned confirmed that Kadi was trying to see Herod once more romantically after the alleged sexual assault. Two witnesses additionally testified that they’d heard Kadi seek advice from the incident solely as a “making out session” or that she had “connected” with Herod in a method that she was blissful about, in keeping with the transcript.
“Ms. Kadi’s testimony on this case is discovered to be unimaginable by this Court docket, not solely as a result of the character of her testimony simply merely defies widespread sense in so many situations, but additionally as a result of the opposite reveals, immediately the dependable proof proves this to be merely not constant,” Gonzales mentioned within the transcript.
As for the opposite incidents Kadi had listed, the choose mentioned that, “even assuming what you mentioned is true … most of those are nothing greater than anyone maybe simply ignoring you … or possibly, at most, being a bit curt.”
Herod mentioned she is contemplating submitting a defamation lawsuit in opposition to Kadi within the matter.
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