Aide To Mayor Being Investigated

A senior aide in the mayor’s office here is being investigated for sexual assault.

The 34-year-old assistant, whose name was not released, has been on paid administrative leave for more than a week, said Rebecca Hale, Mayor Norm Rice’s spokeswoman.

“I don’t want to prejudge anyone at this time, but these are very serious allegations and I am taking this very seriously,” Rice said in a statement. “I can’t comment further until the outcome of the investigation and the prosecutor’s review.”

The aide has worked in the office for two years, Hale said.

The incident allegedly occurred Feb. 11, a police report said.

According to the report, the victim, a 31-year-old Seward Park woman, was assaulted at a private residence in Seattle. She and her alleged assailant were acquainted, the report said.

The woman was treated at Harborview Medical Center after the incident, the report said. She went to police March 6.

Police had not yet brought the case to prosecutors, King County prosecutor’s spokesman Dan Satterberg said Friday.