An upstate congressman was forced to admit he was wrong to dismiss a sex-attack victim who came forward years ago to accuse an aide to one of the most powerful Democrats in New York State, a sworn statement shows.
Rochester Rep. Joseph Morelle admitted that he was wrong to dismiss accuser and former state Assembly staffer Elizabeth Crothers’ rape accusations against convicted predator Michael Boxley — who worked for then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
“When the allegation was made, I did not know Ms. Crothers, and do not believe I had ever met or spoken with her,” Morelle said in an affidavit as part of the negligence lawsuit Crothers brought against the Assembly and the State of New York for its handling of her claim.
At the time he made the comments, Morelle was friendly with Boxley, the legal counsel or top aide to Silver. Boxley allegedly denied the accusations in a 2001 chat with Morelle, who was then a member of the state Assembly.
“Shortly after speaking with Boxley, a reporter for a local news outlet approached me and asked me my thoughts were regarding the rape allegations made by Ms. Crothers against Mr. Boxley. I responded that ‘I absolutely don’t believe a word of it,’” Morelle said, according to his sworn statement.
An Assembly probe cleared Boxley but he was later indicted for raping another Assembly staffer, Rikki Shaw.
Boxley pleaded guilty in 2003 to a lesser sexual misconduct charge for having intercourse with Shaw without her consent to settle the rape case.
“Many years later, in 2018, I publicly apologized to Elizabeth Crothers for making that statement in 2001. I recognized that my 2001 statement was insensitive and made without full knowledge of the facts,” Morelle said in the affidavit.
“My statement in 2001 was intended to be supportive of Michael Boxley.”
Morelle also admitted he recalled hearing “rumors spread” to smear Crothers, an alleged rape victim.
“I am aware that on December 22, 2003, Michael Boxley pled guilty to criminal charges and admitted in open court to having sexual intercourse with a 22-year-old Assembly without her consent,” the congressman said.
Morelle, before his election to Congress, served as the Democratic Assembly majority leader under both Speakers Silver and then Carl Heastie from 2013-2018.
He claimed he’s now more sensitive to women who claim they were sexually abused by men in power.
Boxley has long denied that he raped Crothers, and did so again in his own deposition in the Crothers case, where he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 40 times.
Meanwhile, former city Comptroller and Assemblyman Scott Stringer issued his own sworn statement in the Crothers case.
He said he spoke to Crothers the night she claimed Boxley raped her on June 29, 2001.
Stringer and Crothers stayed at the same hotel in Albany when the legislature was in session, and she explained what happened to her in excruciating and horrifying detail.
“Although Elizabeth was having difficulty speaking, she was able to tell me that she had gone to Michael Boxley’s apartment with him and that they had kissed and that Boxley forced himself on her and raped her,” Stringer said.
He said Crothers was “worried and upset” that Boxley did not use a condom, and that she was on her period and had a tampon in but could not locate it and was afraid that it had been “shoved deep inside her by Boxley when he raped her.”
“Elizabeth was upset and did not know what to do,” Stringer said.
“We discussed possible options that Elizabeth could take including going to the hospital, making a police report, trying to get mental health services, etc. I recall that I expressed my unconditional support for Elizabeth regardless of whether or not she decided to make a report to the police, to the Assembly, or to the Assembly Speaker; and I continued to give her my full support throughout the entire horrible ordeal.”
Stringer declined further comment when contacted by the Post on Monday.
Crothers filed a civil suit in 2023 against the Assembly and the state of New York under the Adult Survivors Act. She accused the state of promoting a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and negligence.
Shaw did not reveal her identity herself as Boxley’s abuse victim when he was prosecuted. She was referred to as “Jane Doe’ at the time.
But as the Post reported earlier Monday, Shaw decided to go public and submitted an affidavit in support of Crothers and other abuse survivors/
“More than 20 years after I was raped, Albany is still protecting the politically connected instead of holding predators accountable,” Shaw told The Post.
Crothers’ attorney slammed state Attorney General Letitia James for aggressively defending the Assembly and the Albany government in the case.
“Recognizing that the abuse and cover-up of Ms. Crothers’ assault happened in a different era of New York State’s leadership, we expected this AG who has been such a champion for victims of sexual assault to be eager to make amends with Ms. Crothers,” said Crothers’ lawyer, Carrie Goldberg.
“Instead, we’ve seen aggressive efforts to try to get Ms. Crothers’ case thrown out, despite there being uncontroverted evidence that she was raped and horrifically retaliated against. It makes us question whether anything has meaningfully changed in New York politics.”
Goldberg added, “They’ve made zero efforts to try to resolve the case which frankly is fine for us given Ms. Crothers’ heaping evidence.”
The attorney general’s office said Monday it is defending the Assembly and the government in the Crothers case in its capacity as the state’s legal counsel.
The trial is scheduled for Aug. 24.
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