A top nuclear defense official at the Pentagon resigned amid allegations that he sexually harassed three women on his staff, according to a new report.
Guy Roberts stepped down April 2 from his position as assistant defense secretary for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs after the three women accused him of forcing hugs and kisses on them, and told inappropriate jokes, USA Today reported.
The Defense Department’s inspector general launched its probe on Feb. 22 and announced the resignation Thursday.
Roberts rebutted the allegations.
“I am surprised and dismayed by the conclusions contained in the report,” Roberts wrote. “Specifically, that I sexually harassed and inappropriately touched the three employees and others.”
He acknowledged telling off-color jokes but said he had done so for decades and relied on his staff to keep him in check.
“I have been telling those jokes and funny incidents for over 30 years to audiences large and small,” Roberts wrote. “In today’s work place the fact that any one person would feel uncomfortable is enough to stop telling those kinds of jokes and I failed to appreciate that fact.”
One of the women told investigators that Roberts routinely greeted her by hugging and kissing her — and would “press his crotch and chest against her in an attempt to have full body contact.”
The part-time employee said she changed the way she dressed and sought to avoid Roberts’ attention.
“She stated: ‘I just, I wanted him to stop paying attention to me, and I wanted him to think I wasn’t attractive. I mean I consciously thought about what I was wearing and how I was behaving,” according to the report.
“It was awful. I mean it was bad. It was really uncomfortable,” the report added.
The Pentagon inspector general interviewed Roberts and 18 witnesses and reviewed more than 4,000 emails during the probe.
Last year, the IG announced it had substantiated 590 allegations of misconduct among generals, admirals and senior civilian officials from 2013 to 2017 with trends showing a decline in misbehavior.
But the overall number of complaints has more than doubled since 2008, when investigators received 395 complaints. In 2017, there were 803 complaints.
