Los Angeles County-Area Senator Faces More Allegations

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA -- A second Southern California woman has told a newspaper that state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) acted inappropriately towards her, according to a report published Sunday by the Sacramento Bee.

A second woman, Jennifer Kwart, came forward with her story after the Sacramento Bee published a story about a Senate investigation into allegations that Mendoza on at least two occasions invited a 23-year-old woman to his home to review her resume for an open job in his office this year. Her name was not revealed.

Kwart told the Sacramento Bee her encounter occurred when she was a 19- year-old intern in his Norwalk office in 2008. Mendoza was 36 and an Assemblyman and the encounter involved a trip to the California Democratic Party's state convention in San Jose that year.

Staff in Mendoza's office invited her to attend the convention in March, Kwart said. As a former Mendoza staff member, Kwart said she assumed other employees were going. Instead, she said Mendoza picker her up from the airport and took her to a hotel suite.

At his suggestions they had drinks from the mini-bar in the suite, despite her age, Kwart said.

The Sacramento newspaper gave a summary of the allegation to a Mendoza staff member, who said they were"completely false." But the spokesman did not respond to follow-up questions from the Bee that mentioned Kwart's name.

Earlier in the week, a female staffer accused Mendoza of inappropriate behavior.

In a statement to KCRA, Mendoza said the allegations were "completely news to me." He said he wouldn't "intentionally put an employee into an awkward or uncomfortable position."

Three other staffers said they were fired after they reported Mendoza's behavior, an attorney representing the ex-employees told Capital Public Radio.

Mendoza has served in the senate since 2014 after serving in the state Assembly for six years. He also served as a councilman in the city of Artesia.

--City News Service contributed to this report; Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press