Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is facing questions over a plea deal her office negotiated during her stint as California’s attorney general that allowed a disgraced former San Diego mayor to avoid registering as a sex offender and dodge prison time.
Harris’ office was reportedly in charge of negotiating a plea deal stemming from allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner brought by about 20 women in 2013.
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According to the Washington Examiner, Harris’s office drew backlash for letting Filner plead guilty to state charges of false imprisonment and battery against three women in exchange for a light sentence.Video
So rather than spend five years behind bars, Filner got three months of house arrest, three years’ probation, and some loss of his mayoral pension.
It’s a deal that probably wouldn’t be considered acceptable today, critics said.
“The cultural change since #MeToo is having an impact of how prosecutors listen to victims now. I think it all comes down to whether we believe women and how seriously we take these allegations. In serious instances, you need serious consequences,” Maya Raghu, director of workplace equality and senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, told the Washington Examiner. – READ MORE