UPDATE: Woman accusing Murphy staffer of rape says she 'received no justice'

This spring, the woman who accused a senior staffer in Gov. Phil Murphy's administration of sexual assault was assured by a Murphy campaign attorney that her alleged attacker would soon be out of his job, a source with direct knowledge of the woman's account told NJ Advance Media.

About four months later, however, that accused official, Albert J. Alvarez, was still employed as chief of staff for the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. He did not resign until Oct. 2.

Alvarez, 44, of Wood-Ridge, has not been charged with a crime. He has declined numerous requests from NJ Advance Media this week to comment on the allegations.

Murphy has yet to issue a statement about the accusations confronting his administration since they were published by various media outlets, including NJ Advance Media, on Wednesday and Thursday. His office had no comment Friday.

The attorney contacted the woman -- a supporter of Murphy's campaign for governor last year -- after she sent an email to Murphy and his wife, Tammy, this spring asking for a meeting to discuss a "sensitive matter" that occurred during the campaign, according to three sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

The governor replied by copying aides on the email for follow-up, but there was never a meeting with the governor, the sources said.

Instead, the matter was referred to the campaign attorney, who assured her Alvarez would be "winding down" in his job, according to two sources with knowledge of the state's involvement.

This was the third time the woman had approached the Murphy camp to tell her story. The first time was during the transition period before Murphy took office in January, when Alvarez, a fellow Democrat, served as deputy director of personnel.

Alvarez wasn't then tapped for the $140,000-a-year job with the schools authority. Two sources said background checks found Alvarez had no criminal charges or arrests.

The woman contacted the Murphy administration twice again in the spring, the sources said.

Sources said the woman contacted the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, the county in which the alleged sexual assault occurred, in the spring of 2017. The prosecutor's office decided not to bring charges, sources said.

Sharon Lauchaire, a spokeswoman with the state Attorney General's Office, said in a statement issued Thursday that the governor's office "conveyed information" to the Attorney General's Office about Alvarez this spring.

"Beyond that, we cannot comment on the specifics of the information," Lauchaire said.

Two of the sources with knowledge of the state's involvement said a senior Murphy administration official reached out to the Attorney General's Office after the accuser contacted them in March.

The sources said a deputy to the administration official remained in contact with the accuser during the spring.

Later in the spring, the alleged victim wrote to the Murphys directly.

Murphy was asked about Alvarez's resignation on Tuesday, before the published reports of the allegations of sexual assault.

"I know that Al has resigned, and beyond that I have no more color to offer," the governor said, replying to a reporter's question at an unrelated press conference in Metuchen.

On Friday, Republicans renewed calls for legislative hearings into Alvarez's hiring and the handling of the unidentified woman's allegations.

All 26 Republicans in the 80-member state Assembly wrote a letter to Murphy seeking answers to questions about the matter.

"A volunteer on your campaign had the courage and conviction to make her circumstances known, and she was greeted with a disappointing lack of action," the lawmakers wrote. "It seems that there is a bias of what is acceptable and what is not."

"Your reluctance to offer 'more color' on the matter, and undertake a thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct, leaves more questions each and every day that your administration fails to provide answers," the added.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney on Friday said lawmakers are reviewing the matter as they consider hearings. He said they are waiting to review "hard documents" on the accusations.

"We take these allegations seriously," Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told NJ Advance Media. "We take them very seriously. And as information comes in, we'll make a decision."

Alvarez previously served as a deputy chief of staff under then-Gov. Jon Corzine and as an attorney for the state Democratic Committee. He worked as director of Latino community outreach during Murphy's gubernatorial campaign.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.