Hackney: Curtis Hill groping investigation can't be trusted By operating in secret, General Assembly leadership has already proven they are unwilling and incapable of seeking the truth.

Suzette Hackney | IndyStar

The sexual harassment claims four women have made against Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill are staggering, downright appalling. That they all have similar stories of his alleged behavior — on the same night, at the same bar — also makes their allegations believable.

These women shared deeply personal, and I’m certain embarrassing, details about what they perceive to be an abuse of power by our state’s top law enforcement official.

Are we listening?

As I see it, we are relying on the leadership of the General Assembly to serve as the investigator, judge and jury of one of their own – in a closed courtroom with no stenographer or witnesses. This certainly can't be part of the enhanced harassment policy overhaul at the Statehouse, can it?

I'll just say it: I do not trust the process.

I do not trust a group of men — men who did everything in their power to keep the allegations undercover in the hopes of avoiding liability — to do the right thing. By operating in secret, they have already proven they are unwilling and incapable of adhering to the moral and ethical courage needed to seek the truth and a fair resolution.

Instead, they are more concerned with who leaked the information to IndyStar reporters. In a joint statement Tuesday, House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis and Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne said they are launching an investigation into who leaked a memo outlining the allegations that Hill inappropriately touched a lawmaker and three legislative staffers during a party on the final night of the legislative session.

Hackney:2 officers keep their jobs; Indianapolis loses

Hackney: Is the crowd safe at the Indianapolis 500?

Let's recall what these women said happened to them, while we consider the find-the-leaker priorities of Bosma and Long.

One lawmaker said an intoxicated Hill put his hands on her back, slid them down her back, put them under her clothes and grabbed her buttocks. She told him to “back off” and walked away, but Hill approached her again later and again reached under her clothing and grabbed her buttocks. She again told him to “back off.”

A legislative employee said Hill put his arm around her and began sliding his hand down her back. When she tried to remove his hand, she said Hill grabbed her hand and groped her on the buttocks.

A second legislative employee said she witnessed Hill’s behavior toward the lawmaker and wondered if it was some sort of “cultural thing” she didn’t understand. Hill later put his arm around her own waist and hugged her to him before she moved away.

A third legislative employee said Hill made her uncomfortable when he approached her at the bar and rubbed her back for about two minutes. She left the bar to go to the ladies room.

Several of the women said they heard Hill tell women at the bar that they needed to “show a little skin” or show more leg if they wanted get free drinks or faster service.

Hill has denied any wrongdoing and has pledged to remain in office. I honestly don't know how he can. Frankly I don't know how Long and Bosma can look at themselves in the mirror — by attempting to conceal these allegations, they are just as culpable as Hill if he committed those acts.

Professing in a statement that "the matter has been addressed with the Attorney General to the satisfaction of the employees involved," Long and Bosma, along with House Minority Leader Terry Goodin, D-Austin and Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, are betting that they can hide behind the anonymity of the women.

One of the alleged victims who spoke with IndyStar on condition she not be identified expressed anger about Hill's denial.

"This was a pattern of behavior that was witnessed by many," she said.

She said she was satisfied that the investigation was conducted and that the women involved were treated fairly, but she said she was "disappointed that nothing can be done to censure him formally."

That alone may prompt the women to come forward.

No one understands this pain until they have been through it. And it happens repeatedly in many forms to so many women. When I was a reporter in Detroit, I met a source at a popular political hangout, Flood’s Bar & Grille. He was a high-powered political consultant; I was a young journalist covering City Hall. As we shared a drink and talked local politics, he took my hand, placed it on his pants where his penis was and rubbed it up and down. “Just for your information,” he said.

I was mortified and rattled. I mumbled that I needed to use the bathroom and almost ran there. When I returned, I made some excuse and quickly left the bar. But the most difficult part of that experience was that I had to continue interviewing and quoting him for years after the incident. He was knowledgeable and plugged in, and I believed I couldn’t risk the professional hit I would take if I was repeatedly scooped on my beat. At that time, I didn’t know I was empowered to tell my bosses or the larger community what a degenerate he was. I didn’t think it would matter.

But it does. And these four women, likely at least in part because of the #MeToo Movement, believed they were empowered to come forward. They were emboldened by America’s recent awareness that they shouldn’t have to endure such sexual harassment – harassment that could be considered assault. And we are failing them.

But we don't have to — we can demand better. We can demand full disclosure of the process, transcripts of interviews and an explanation from legislative leadership as to how they reached the conclusions they did not to reprimand Hill or call for his resignation. We can't allow them to hide behind vague prepared statements.

They owe these women — and their constituents — so much more.

Email IndyStar columnist Suzette Hackney at suzette.hackney@indystar.com. Friend her on Facebook at Suzette Hackney and follow her on Twitter: @suzyscribe.