Dave Boucher, and Joel Ebert

The Tennessean

Rep. Jeremy Durham engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women, including sexual harassment, and his actions warrant expulsion from the Tennessee General Assembly, according to a newly released report from the state attorney general.

But a special legislative committee is leaving it up to the voters of the 65th District to decide whether Durham, a Franklin Republican, will continue serving in the legislature. Durham, once considered a rising star in the party, is up for re-election this year.

That conduct by Durham, who is 32 and has been married since 2011, includes bringing a 20-year-old "college student/political worker" to his legislative office with a cooler full of beer, kissing her and eventually having sex with her on a couch, according to the report.

"He told her that he wanted to kiss her, and the two kissed and had sexual intercourse," the report states.

"Afterward, they talked and watched a baseball game in his office, during which time Rep. Durham told her, 'I better be careful or I could end up falling for you.' "

Durham also sent a late-night text message to the same woman, identified as Jane Doe 38, saying, "I would like to see you naked around midnight," the report states. The woman told the attorney general that she went to Durham's office about midnight and he was intoxicated. "The two had sexual contact," the report states. On a third encounter, they had sex in Durham's home.

The report also includes another woman — identified as Jane Doe 9 — who said during the 2013 or 2014 legislative session that Durham had a dish of candy on his desk. When she asked for one, Durham instead pulled a dirty, unwrapped mint from his pocket and said, "You don't want those, I've got this."

After that, she gave Durham the nickname "Pants Candy."

A male lobbyist, according to the report, said when the woman asked for a mint from the candy dish, Durham "put his hand in his pocket, and moved it around in a manner that made 'quite a display' of accentuating his genitalia."

The report details the toll Durham’s behavior took on women who worked in or around the state Capitol.

Women feared they would lose their jobs, earn reputations as complainers or damage their relationships with other members of the Republican Caucus if they came forward. Female lobbyists said they feared they would lose votes for the bills they were championing, according to the report.

One former intern broke down in tears as she spoke to investigators about her encounters with Durham. Another legislative assistant took a job in the private sector instead of pursuing her ambitions to become a lobbyist after encounters with Durham, which included one instance in which he kissed her on the neck, sent her multiple suggestive texts and requested she send him pictures of her.

An attorney for Durham issued a statement blasting the report, but didn't specifically rebut any of the findings.

"Even though nobody ever filed a complaint of sexual harassment, the investigation goes into alleged details with allegations from witnesses whose identity is completely anonymous," attorney Bill Harbison said in the statement.

"Unlike any normal legal proceeding where there is an opportunity to confront witnesses, get notice of subpoenas, or, at the very least, understand the exact allegations against a person, this investigation has been secretive and deceptive from the very beginning. We believe that no fair-minded person should judge Jeremy Durham based on a one-sided, anonymous report."

Lawmakers on a special legislative committee met briefly Wednesday afternoon to vote to make the report public. They did not release the supporting documents. In a news conference later Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, called Durham's acts "repulsive and unacceptable," and said they were not representative of all members of the House.

"This may be one of the few times in his life he has been held accountable. This will be made public," Harwell said, almost yelling in response to whether the committee's investigation was an "act of futility."

The full measure of Durham's accountability remains unknown. Although the committee found enough evidence to recommend expelling Durham from the legislature, committee Chairman Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, argued the close proximity to the Aug. 4 primary election would make it "very difficult to get members back for a special session."

Harwell said if Durham did win re-election, he would still be banned from having an office at the legislature, and he would still have limits on staffers with whom he could interact.

Victims rights advocates said the special committee missed an opportunity to support the women who came forward because those lawmakers did not take steps to expel Durham. Tim Tohill, president of the Sexual Assault Center, said the report shows that the General Assembly is failing to meet its obligation to protect people from sexual harassment.

“I think if the General Assembly truly wants people that feel like they have been sexually harassed to come forward, they are going to have to do something that encourages people to do that,” Tohill said.

"By doing an investigation and determining the behavior is such — then doing nothing — is not going to encourage people to step forward. To rely on the voters for that just seems to me that the General Assembly is not meeting their obligation to protect people from sexual harassment.”

REPORT: Read the attorney general's report

After conducting 78 interviews, the investigation found that Durham had engaged sexually with current and former female legislative staff, interns, lobbyists and others between 2012 — when he first took office — and the 2015-16 legislative session, according to the report.

The attorney general cataloged “interactions” with 22 women, all of which occurred while Durham was an elected official. Thirteen occurred between November 2012 and the end of 2014, eight occurred in 2015 and one occurred in 2016, according to the report.

The latest findings probably will send shockwaves through the Capitol as questions remain over who had knowledge of Durham’s actions before his recent public scrutiny and what changes may prevent such actions in the future.

Durham began to face public scrutiny in the aftermath of a Tennessean investigation, published in late January, which found three women who said they received inappropriate text messages from Durham’s cellphone. Durham previously has told The Tennessean he can’t remember sending such messages and previously denied sexually harassing anyone.

Durham's campaign contributions also have been under scrutiny after the office of Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery interviewed a former Durham employee who said Durham used campaign donations for his business.

Jeremy Durham investigation nears end

In an effort to block the release of the attorney general’s report, Durham tried to sue Slatery and Harwell in Chancery Court. Durham's arguments included that his due process had been violated.

On Tuesday, Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins rejected Durham’s efforts to get an injunction, saying the release of the report was in the public interest.

Despite Perkins’ decision and calls from Harwell and Haslam for the report to be made publicly available, some members of the four-member legislative committee remained concerned that those interviewed during the probe could be identified. One committee member, Rep. Billy Spivey, didn't sign the final report due to those concerns, Harwell said.

Shortly before Wednesday’s meeting Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale, sent an email out to his colleagues arguing the public release of the report would violate the House's sexual harassment policy.

The state’s overall investigation into Durham took five months, involved hundreds of hours of staff participation and featured countless interviews with witnesses and victims.

Durham may return to the statehouse in January if he is re-elected.

Reporters Anita Wadhwani, Kirk Bado and Thomas Novelly contributed to this report.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1. Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.

Timeline: Jeremy Durham investigation