Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert on Oct. 22 took the side of a state employee whose allegations of sexual assault have focused attention on how the Murphy administration handled the matter and prompted lawmakers to say they plan to investigate.
Katie Brennan has accused a member of Gov. Phil Murphy’s election campaign who subsequently took a state job of sexually assaulting her inside her apartment in Jersey City last year. Brennan, 31, has said she went to law enforcement, but the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office declined to press charges.
Lempert called the incident and the response to it “incredibly upsetting.”
“I feel Katie is entitled to justice and I don’t think she should have had to struggle so hard to try to get justice,” Lempert said. “She seemed to be doing everything right.”
This was the second time this month Lempert has waded into a high-profile case involving an allegation of sexual assault. She joined protestors opposed to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, accused of sexual assault when he was a teen. At that demonstration, Lempert wore a button saying “Believe Survivors.”
Brennan took a state job as chief of staff with the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Her alleged attacker, Albert J. Alvarez, also took a job with the state, at the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. He resigned from that position earlier this month, the same day he was contacted by the Wall Street Journal, which was reporting on Brennan’s allegations.
State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal’s office announced last week that Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, who was not involved in the decision not to pursue the case, had reviewed the file of the matter this month and “realized” she knew Brennan and Alvarez. She asked the state’s Division of Criminal Justice to “supersede the case,” Grewal’s office said in a statement.
The state sent the matter to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office to review.
Alvarez, through his lawyer, has denied any wrongdoing.
Brennan has said “several senior level members of the Murphy administration were aware of my assault and failed to take meaningful action.” She later said “the failure of members of Gov. Murphy’s staff to respond in an aggressive, proactive fashion is unacceptable.”
The Murphy administration tapped former state Supreme Court Judge Peter G. Verniero and his law firm to review hiring and vetting by the governor’s transition office. That includes “the hiring and vetting of Mr. Albert J. Alvarez, regarding his position in the transition office and his eventual position at the New Jersey Schools Development Authority,” Verniero said in a statement the governor’s office released on Oct. 15.
Princeton Council President Jenny Crumiller said on Oct. 23 that based on what she has read, the matter “was grossly mishandled” by the Murphy administration “by hiring the person and then not responding to the victim’s complaints.”
Asked how she felt Murphy and his administration handled the matter, Lempert said, “From what I’ve read, it’s upsetting.”
State lawmakers said they intend to probe the matter, also looking into the state’s hiring practices and how the legal system handles sexual assault cases. They intend to form a Select Committee on Investigation, made up of members of the Senate and Assembly. A vote by the Legislature is expected next week.
Two lawmakers who represent Princeton weighed in last week.
“We have to get to the bottom of why Ms. Brennan’s pleas for help were ignored,” said Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon and Middlesex), in a statement on Oct. 19. “If the Select Committee on Investigation can do that, we can produce a system that accurately reflects our values and ensures that anyone who has endured abuse or assault will be heard and respected.”
Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, (D-Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon and Middlesex) described himself as “outraged, and quite frankly, disappointed, that a woman seeking justice faced hurdle after hurdle attempting to get a response.”
“These roadblocks are unacceptable, discourage women from coming forward and must be identified and eliminated,” he said.
State Sen. Kip Bateman (R-Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon and Middlesex) did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.