Updated 4:30 p.m. Oct. 20, 2014
The San Diego County District Attorney‘s office said Monday no criminal charges will be filed in connection with a burglary of Carl DeMaio‘s campaign office and a related allegation of sexual harassment.
“After thorough investigations conducted by the San Diego Police Department on both cases, no criminal charges will be filed at this time due to insufficiency of evidence,” the office said in a statement.
DeMaio, the Republican candidate for Congress in the 52nd District, said the sexual harassment claim by a former staffer was an “outrageous lie” fabricated because the person is a suspect in the burglary in May. The harassment claim first surfaced earlier this month when a reporter asked about it during a press conference.
The District Attorney’s office also said the California Attorney General found no legal conflict of interest restricting District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican and supporter of DeMaio, from reviewing either case.
“The San Diego Police Department’s investigations of these matters have been very thorough, objective and professional. SDPD committed significant resources to the investigations and no stone was left unturned. The District Attorney’s Office thoroughly reviewed the investigations,” Dumanis said.
During the burglary, computer cables were cut and monitors smashed. Investigators initially said they didn’t know if anything was stolen. Recently, however, DeMaio claimed that the Peters camp had received his campaign “playbook.”
Peters said he never saw the document, and that his campaign staff turned it over to authorities.
Former DeMaio campaign aide Todd Bosnich recently contended that DeMaio once masturbated in front of him and engaged in a pattern of sexual harassment against him. Both DeMaio and Bosnich are gay.
DeMaio has denied the claims.
“We’re glad the District Attorney has found that Mr. Bosnich’s politically-motivated smears are without merit,” said Dave McCulloch, a spokesperson for the DeMaio campaign.
The Peters campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The District Attorney’s Office also stated that the state Attorney General’s Office had confirmed that there was no illegal conflict of interest in the investigation. Dumanis and DeMaio were both candidates for mayor of San Diego two years ago.
Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said the allegations against DeMaio “were taken seriously and investigated thoroughly” by her department.
“The highest level of confidentially was maintained during the entire investigative process, and will continue to be maintained, to protect the integrity of each investigation,” she said.
