Arlington County’s Dept. of Human Resources has no record of any allegations of workplace sexual harassment or sexual assault against senior county officials over the past 18 years.
That’s the response ARLnow.com received to a Freedom of Information Act request, filed in the wake of a wave of sexual misconduct allegations in Hollywood, politics and the news business.
The recent #MeToo awakening started with explosive allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and has since spread, with dozens of prominent men from Kevin Spacey to Matt Lauer to Rep. John Conyers Jr. facing accusations that have led to firings and resignations.
One common thread: often the men accused of serious wrongdoing — from rape to harassment — were in positions of authority, which they used against their victims.
ARLnow wanted to see if anyone in a position of high authority within Arlington County government has been accused of sexual harassment or assault since 2000. At first we asked a county spokeswoman, who then directed us to file a Freedom of Information Act request.
Here’s the response we received to our FOIA filing:
This letter is in response to your Virginia Freedom of Information Act request for details of any allegations, known to Arlington County’s Human Resources Department, of sexual assault or sexual harassment against Arlington County elected officials or senior staff members (director level or above) since 2000.
Please note, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3704(B)(3) the requested records could not be found or do not exist.
Thank you for contacting this office.
Sincerely,
Ina Chandler
Arlington County FOIA Officer