Northeast News

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – State Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, resigned last week after allegations of sexually harassing a female intern working in his office.

In a press release on Friday, July 24, LeVota said his conduct has been called into question in regards to the Missouri State intern program. Even though he claims there is no proof of wrongdoing, the media attention he's received recently is a distraction to doing, "the people's work."

"As I stated before, I did not engage in any inappropriate activities with any intern in the Missouri Senate and a thorough investigation found no proof of misconduct," LeVota said in the release. "However, I will not put my family, myself, and the senate through the process of dealing with the veracity of false allegations and character assassination against me."

LeVota said his resignation will be effective Aug. 23, 2015. He said it's important for him to finalize any issues in his office and allow Gov. Jay Nixon time to call for a special election to fill his seat.

LeVota allegedly harassed the intern, then retaliated against her after she turned down his advances. The intern worked his in office for two months before the University of Central Missouri pulled her and another intern from the state capitol.