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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Former Aide Claims Florida Senator Shed Her Clothes In Front of Him

A former aide to a Florida state senator claims in court that the politician sexually harassed him by regularly undressing in front of him.

By ALEX PICKETT

(CN) - A former aide to a Florida state senator claims in court that the politician sexually harassed him by regularly undressing in front of him.

In a complaint filed in the Leon County Circuit Court on Nov. 28, Matthew Damsky says Florida State Sen. Maria Sachs exposed him to unwelcome sexual conduct including but not limited to her undressing in front of him on multiple occasions.

Damsky, 28, claims the 67-year-old's frequent disrobing in his presence left him “without the capacity for the enjoyment of life.”

He also claims the Delray Beach Democrat demanded he perform extensive personal services including grocery shopping, walking her dog, maintaining her relatives' homes, and traveling cross  country to assist her children and mother, all without compensation.

Damsky is suing the Florida State Senate on claims of gender discrimination and retaliation.

But according to documents filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Sachs said her former aide charged tens of thousands of dollars on her credit card and improperly took travel reimbursements out of her state senate travel account.

In an affidavit filed with the EEOC, Damsky admitted to charging a dozen plane tickets to Sachs’ American Express Platinum Card, as well as more than $4,000 at Walgreens.

But Damsky's attorney, Marie Mattox, said Thursday that her client was forced to sign the affidavit.

"He was threatened, literally," she said.

After Sachs confronted Damsky about the charges in January, she gave him the choice to resign, according to the documents. Six months later, he filed the complaint with the EEOC, which was denied.

Sachs, who was elected to the state Senate in 2010 after four years in the Florida House, did not seek re-election this year.

Sachs did not immediately respond to e-mails sent to her, but a friend of the family told Courthouse News the lawsuit was “laughable, ludicrous and larcenous.”

“Damsky is under active investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his apparent crimes against taxpayers, Maria Sachs, and her family,” said Ron Sachs, who is not related to the senator. “[The lawsuit] is an attempt to shake a money tree.”

The Florida Division of Law Enforcement confirmed a complaint has been filed against Damsky and officials are deciding whether to pursue it.

Follow @alexbpickett
Categories / Employment, Government

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