Editor's note: On Nov. 23, 2015, Todd Bosnich was sentenced for obstructing justice after he admitted he created a phony email to make it appear DeMaio or his associates were threatening him. He also admitted to lying to the FBI about the email.
A former staff member for congressional candidate Carl DeMaio has released results of a polygraph test that he says support his claims that DeMaio sexually harassed him.
Todd Bosnich says he was subjected to unwelcome touching and repeated sexual harassment while working on the congressional campaign for the former San Diego city councilman and 2012 mayoral candidate.
DeMaio says Bosnich is "clearly troubled" and has "manufactured a story" to cover for a plagiarism incident.
His campaign spokesperson called the allegations "completely false."
The battle between DeMaio and Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Peters for the 52nd Congressional District seat has been ugly at times, with allegations of plagiarism and gay slurs reposted on a campaign website.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which has strongly backed DeMaio, reiterated its support Friday.
“We fully support Carl DeMaio, and we don’t make decisions based on unsubstantiated claims,” said Andrea Bozek, the NRCC's communications director.
In a CNN report that first aired Friday, Bosnich described an alleged incident in which he says DeMaio asked him to come to his office. Bosnich says that when he arrived, the office door was open, and he says that DeMaio had his penis in his hand and a smile on his face.
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Bosnich also says that in a separate incident, after a night of drinks with campaign staff, DeMaio reached into Bosnich’s lap and grabbed his crotch.
The four-page polygraph report Bosnich has released, generated from polygraph examiner Darryl Bullens, said there was "no deception indicated" in six answers Bosnich gave about DeMaio's alleged unwelcome sexual advances.
One question included was, "Did you fabricate the story about Carl DeMaio masturbating in front of you?" to which Bosnich answered "no." Another was "Did you fabricate the story about Carl DeMaio touching your sexual parts?" Bosnich answered "no."
Bosnich told CNN that he warned DeMaio to stop the behavior or drop out of the race.
He says that after that meeting, he was offered a position with the San Diego County Republican Party, instructed to sign a non-disclosure agreement and offered a payment of $50,000.
Bosnich said he left the campaign without the money and without signing any papers.
DeMaio addressed Bosnich's allegations Wednesday prior to the airing of the CNN report. DeMaio said that Bosnich had been involved in vandalism at a campaign headquarters just six days before the June primary.
DeMaio said Bosnich fabricated the sexual allegations in order to divert attention away from what he says what his attack on the campaign office.
“It’s unfortunate, you know, that an individual who is the prime suspect to the break-in in our campaign office would manufacture such an outrageous lie — but again, all the evidence that was collected by the police department clearly indicated this individual was the prime suspect. And it’s unfortunate, but we will continue to allow the district attorney to proceed with her case, and weighing the case, to prosecute for the break-in of our office,” DeMaio said.
The DeMaio campaign office in Miramar was broken into on May 28. Computer screens were smashed, cords and cables were cut, gas cards were stolen and water was poured over laptops, printers and copiers.
On Wednesday, DeMaio told reporters that San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman assured him he was cleared in the sexual allegations investigation.
A spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department would not confirm that information but issued a statement to NBC 7.
"Reports of any criminal activity received by the San Diego Police Department are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly," police said. "Once an investigation is complete, it is turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for review at which point we do not provide further comment about the names of potential victims, witnesses or alleged suspects."
When asked about any investigation into a claim of sexual harassment, Steve Walker with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said his office "thoroughly reviews any investigation forwarded to our office by law enforcement."
Gomez Trial Attorneys, the law firm representing Bosnich, said their client recounted the story of harassment to local radio host Mike Slater and the San Diego Police Department before he was contacted regarding the break-in at DeMaio campaign headquarters.
DeMaio's campaign spokesman Dave McCulloch called Bonsich's allegations "completely false."
"The individual making the claims was fired from the campaign months ago for plagiarism. The individual only made these false allegations after the San Diego Police Department started investigating him as the suspect for the campaign office break-in,” McCulloch said.
Speaker John Boehner is slated to appear with DeMaio at a fundraising brunch in Pacific Beach on Saturday. There is no indication that Boehner will cancel that appearance.
When asked for comment on the allegations, Republican Party of San Diego County Chairman Tony Krvaric told NBC 7, “It’s clear the silly season is upon us.”
This is not the first time DeMaio has faced allegations of committing lewd acts at the office.
In August 2013, the candidate opened up to NBC 7 about what he called “disgusting, humiliating” accusations made in a published report.
A piece published on the website Voice of Orange County claimed that city officials and members of the press knew that DeMaio would regularly excuse himself from Council Chambers to masturbate in the bathroom.
DeMaio blamed Democratic State Sen. Ben Hueso and organized labor for spreading the accusations, the same groups he said worked to get former mayor Bob Filner into office.
Hueso is embroiled in his own legal run-ins, after his DUI arrest on August 22 in Sacramento.
