State Sen. Sara Gelser said Monday that Sen. Jeff Kruse subjected her to inappropriate touching for years and that the conduct continued despite her reports to the Legislature's human resources and legal staff.

Kruse, a Republican from Roseburg who has served in the Legislature since 1997, denied inappropriately touching Gelser or anyone else at the Capitol in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday.

Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis.

Kruse did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday. But he told the Roseburg News Review Monday that he doesn't recall touching Gelser more than by giving her a side hug, which he did not find inappropriate. He also told the Roseburg paper he has no intention of resigning.

As The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported Friday, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, stripped Kruse of his committee assignments that same day -- a rare, drastic form of discipline -- after Gelser posted accusations of inappropriate touching on Twitter on Thursday and Friday. Another cause for the sanction was Kruse's continuing to smoke cigarettes in his Capitol office despite being fined by regulators, Courtney said.

In phone interviews Monday, Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat who has served in the Legislature in 2007, declined to elaborate on the nature of Kruse's inappropriate touching, saying she should not have to describe salacious details in order for people to believe her. But Gelser confirmed that her tweets, which alleged groping by a Republican senator, referred to Kruse.

Dexter Johnson, head lawyer for the Legislature, said Monday that he officially admonished Kruse "not to engage" in unwanted touching after investigating Gelser's harassment complaint in early 2016. Lore Christopher, the Legislature's employee services director, helped with that investigation.

Christopher said Friday that her office had not received any formal or informal complaints about Kruse's conduct. She acknowledged to Gelser and to The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday that she had in fact fielded Gelser's complaints. She justified her Friday statement on the semantic grounds that Gelser's complaint was merely "information."

Gelser agreed to publicly name Kruse as the senator she accused of inappropriate touching in part to confirm an account of one incident that Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, gave to The Oregonian/OregonLive Sunday evening.

Burdick said she witnessed Kruse approach Gelser at her desk on the Oregon Senate floor, wrap his arms around her and step inappropriately close to her during a public debate.

Burdick said she confronted Kruse with "stern words."

"I said, 'Get your hands off Sen. Gelser,"' Burdick said.

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORY

Are you a current or former Oregon Capitol staffer, lobbyist or lawmaker who has been subjected to sexual harassment? We want to hear your story.

Burdick said she could not remember the date of the incident and did not report it to the Legislature's employee services office or legal office.

She said it wasn't the first time she saw Kruse, who has been in the Legislature more than 20 years, inappropriately touch a woman in the Capitol.

Burdick cited another incident several years ago, in which she said Kruse inappropriately touched a female staff member on the Senate floor. Burdick declined to name the staffer. She said Kruse's contact with women has been a "chronic problem" in the Capitol.

Burdick said Kruse's conduct "reached a point where it had to be corrected" when he did not heed warnings to keep his hands to himself after Gelser's complaint.

Gov. Kate Brown, who was senate majority leader from 2004 through 2008, declined a request from The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday to discuss whether she'd witnessed sexual discrimination and harassment in the Senate and more broadly in Oregon politics.

But Brown pointed out in an interview with the Statesman Journal on Friday that Oregon has a high number of women in politics and said she was grateful there's been strong leadership in Oregon to crack down on sexual harassment. "There have been really clear messages that this is unacceptable," Brown told the Salem paper. Brown did not detail what steps women leaders may have taken to send such a message.

Gelser and Kruse both served in the Oregon House before winning election to the Senate. Kruse joined the Senate in 2005, Gelser in 2015. They served together on the Senate Education Committee.

Gelser said Kruse's inappropriate behavior toward her began around 2011. She said she didn't report it until 2016, when she made an informal complaint via the Legislature's harassment-free workplace rules.

Gelser said that after making that report she was interviewed by Johnson, the top attorney, and Christopher, the employee services director. Johnson and Christopher confirmed her account.

Johnson said he subsequently admonished Kruse "not to engage in that behavior."

Gelser said Kruse's conduct continued and that Burdick was not the first to intervene between her and Kruse on the Senate floor.

Christopher said her office also "received information from a couple of sources" in recent days that is under investigation. Johnson said that investigation involves Kruse.

While members of the public and the press are barred from or limited in their access to the Senate floor, both can observe Senate proceedings at all times from a side aisle or upper balconies, all of which offer unobstructed views of the chamber.

Senate proceedings are also videotaped and livestreamed for anyone to watch. But the video coverage typically shows a limited view of what occurs, focusing in on whoever is speaking at the time.

The last time an Oregon lawmaker came under fire for allegedly improper contact with a woman connected to the Legislature was in 2012, when Rep. Matt Wingard had sex with his 20-year-old legislative aide, who had alleged that she felt pressured into it.

Gelser's reports of harassment came as women nationwide are raising their voices about unwanted contact. The #MeToo movement on social media began after accusations from many women alleging sexual harassment and even rape by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. (Weinstein denies unwanted sexual contact.)

National political news outlet The Hill reported Monday that lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists in many states said sexual harassment is "pervasive" in their state's Capitol.

This post has been modified to reflect the following:

On Oct. 24, 2017, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that then-Rep. Matt Wingard had pressured a legislative aide for sex. In fact, Wingard denies that. Both he and the woman have said the sex was consensual. The Oregonian/OregonLive regrets the error.

Reporter Hillary Borrud contributed to this report.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

GFriedman@Oregonian.com

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman