An investigation by the Dauphin County district attorney to determine whether any charges should be brought against a state lawmaker accused by two women of sexual assault and domestic violence is nearing an end.

District Attorney Fran Chardo said his office's work on the complaints against state Rep. Nick Miccarelli continues, but he expects it will be wrapped up in a couple more weeks, adding though it's "not days away."

He indicated that the hold-up has been the volume of digital evidence that they needed to sift through. There also was some difficulty in recovering some of that evidence "but I believe we're past that," Chardo said.

He reiterated an earlier commitment to publicly announce the results of his office's review, regardless of the result.

Miccarelli has strenuously maintained his innocence.

Chardo's office began investigating the women's claims after they filed a complaint with the House GOP Caucus eight months ago. In the complaint, the five-term Republican lawmaker from Delaware County was accused of having engaged in violent and threatening behavior over a six-year period, violating the chamber's workplace harassment policy.

The women who filed it against 36-year-old Miccarelli are Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Luzerne County, and a Harrisburg-based Republican political consultant, who has chosen not to be named publicly.

Each woman had dated Miccarelli between 2012 and 2014, but said they came forward with their claims in February, feeling empowered by the #MeToo movement.

For the political consultant, the breaking point came when Miccarelli wrote on Facebook, "The me too stuff is really hard to read. We must face this issue together." The political consultant found the statement to be "really reprehensible" from a man she accuses of sexually assaulting her.

Their complaint sparked a series of events that included a House investigation that deemed the women's claims to be credible, an unprecedented call by House Republican leaders for a caucus member's resignation, a protection from abuse order obtained by Toohil against Miccarelli, and the assignment of a bodyguard to protect Toohil while at the Capitol.

Miccarelli, however, continues to serve in the state House.

He withdrew his plans to seek re-election but is serving out his term, which expires Nov. 30. By completing his 10th year of House service next month, he and his wife will be entitled to receive lifetime taxpayer-funded health benefits. Any children he has in the future also will receive health benefits until they are 26.

Attempts to reach Miccarelli or his spokesman for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Miccarelli's spokesman Frank Keel has said previously that Miccarelli vehemently denies the allegations and called the women's claims "baseless, false allegations" coming from "two former jilted and vengeful girlfriends."

For a while, there was talk in the House of an expulsion resolution to force Miccarelli to leave but that effort never got off the ground. Members said they felt that, out of fairness, if Miccarelli was removed, two other members who brought unwanted attention to the House should go too: Rep. Vanessa Brown, D-Philadelphia, who faces charges that she sold her vote to an undercover operative for $4,000 cash, and Rep. Tom Caltagirone, D-Berks County, who had a sexual harassment claim filed against him that led to a $248,000 taxpayer-funded settlement.

Expelling a House member requires a two-thirds vote of the chamber. It occurred on at least three occasions in the House over the last century and a half, with the most recent being in 1975. In all three of those cases, it occurred after the members were either charged and convicted of crimes or engaged in corruption, according to House Republican spokesman Steve Miskin.

Miccarelli has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing - and for that matter, neither has Caltagirone. Both Caltagirone and Brown are seeking reelection; Brown is unopposed.

Gov. Tom Wolf called for the resignation of Miccarelli and Caltagirone, as well as Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery. Leach was accused of misconduct by an ex-staffer and other women who told the Philadelphia Inquirer last year that his sexually suggestive jokes and, in at least two cases, unwanted touches made them uncomfortable. Leach apologized for causing the women to be distressed and called off his bid to run for Congress but remains in the state Senate.

Wolf said recently upon hearing the women's claims against Miccarelli that he found them to be credible. Noting he has two daughters, Wolf said, "I can't imagine what a women goes through with the way the world of work has been and we need to change that. That's not good for anybody."

Miskin defends the Republican leaders' handling of the accusations against Miccarelli. He said the leaders did ask for his resignation. They ordered an investigation into the women's accusations against him. They referred the matter to the local prosecutor's office. They stripped Miccarelli of his committee assignments. They took steps to make Toohil feel safer by assigning her a bodyguard and moving Miccarelli's seat to the back of the chamber, farther away from where Toohil sits.

Terry Mutchler, of the Harrisburg-based Mutchler Lyons law firm representing Toohil and the political consultant, compared those actions to "throwing a bucket of water on a burning structure. It's not enough and it doesn't solve the issue."

Meanwhile, she said the long wait for the district attorney's office to complete its investigation, with which her clients have been fully cooperative, and the failure of the House to expel Miccarelli has left her clients frustrated and feeling isolated.

Even advocates for sexual assault and domestic violence aren't keeping the matter alive in her view, Mutchler said. "What you see here is exhibit A why victims don't want to come forward," she said. "The silence is shocking."

Kristen Houser of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape said her group has been communicating with the House privately. It also continues to push for passage of a bill, sponsored by state Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-Delaware County, to ban non-disclosure agreements that hide the names of state lawmakers who are accused of harassment; bars taxpayer-funded settlement in harassment cases involving lawmakers; and establishes an independent body to receive, investigate and resolve complaints instead of leaving that in caucus leadership hands.

Toohil declined to comment. The political consultant said that coming forward with her accusations has hurt her business. She said this is the first year since she opened her business in 2016 that she hasn't added new clients. In fact, she let one go when she heard second-hand that he made a disparaging remark about her coming forward with her accusations against Miccarelli.

Given how the House recently so enthusiastically embraced the domestic violence and sexual assault statute of limitations legislation, Mutchler said, "it's disingenuous then to allow one of their own who is accused of these [or related] crimes, not just accused but that the House itself found to be credible, to remain in that esteemed body."

What that demonstrates to her, she said, is that while the #MeToo movement has served as a wake-up call around the country producing extraordinary results, "the alarm has been ringing in Pennsylvania and we have seen the needle has moved very little and that's depressing."

Staff writer Charles Thompson contributed to this story.

* This story was updated to clarify the context of a comment associated with the political consultant.