A total of 13 women have accused San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of inappropriate sexual advances, the Huffington Post reported. Eldonna Fernandez and Army veteran Gerri Tindley has joined 11 other women in the past month, publicly accusing the 70-year-old may of making unwanted advances, which range from sexually explicit comments to groping acts, CNN reported. They have accused him of preying on vulnerable women as they had been victims of sexual abuse in the past.
The women have said that the former chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee essentially used his power and credentials to access military sexual assault survivors and prey on them, CNN reported.
Fernandez, for instance, a retired master sergeant from the Air Force who served 23 years in the United States, was deployed to the Middle East after 9/11. She said she had been raped three times during her service, and since being out of the military, she has spoken openly about the assaults. She is an active member of the National Women's Veterans Association of America based in San Diego.
Last week, veterans of the NWVAA came forward about various episodes involving Filner, who at the time was a congressman, making inappropriate comments and actions at their events.
"He went to dinners, asked women out to dinners, grabbed breasts, buttocks. The full gamut. Everything that is complete violation of what we stand for," Tara Jones, the president of the group said. "He's a sexual predator. And he used this organization for his own personal agenda."
Jones, who says she was raped while she was in the Navy, formed the NWVAA as a safe haven for military sexual assault victims. In fact, she personally invited Filner into her group, speaking on his service to veterans while a Washington congressman. She also stumped for him when he campaigned to be mayor.
She remembered his speech, where he often called for a zero tolerance of sexual abuse in the armed forces.
Instead, "he preyed upon people who were vulnerable, who he knew nine times out of 10 would not speak up, that didn't have enough strength in them to speak up," she said. "It's not OK. You need to not be in office. You need to be out of office. You need to not have the ability to prey on others."
Fernandez added, "We're all victims of military sexual assault. It appears to me that he was targeting the organization and hitting on the women of this organization because they were easy prey. He's part of an organization that's against sexual assault and sexual violence against women and sexual harassment. And he's doing the very thing that we are fighting to make stop in our service and in our country."
Filner has ignored calls for his resignation. Instead, last he week he checked into a two-week therapy program on Monday he says will deal with his behavior.
"How can you be a representative, take an oath, and be a predator? Do you know how damaging that is for women who are truly victims of military sexual trauma or rape in general? Who can we trust to help us?" Gerry Tindler, another accuser asked.
Last week, Michelle Tyler and Katherine Ragazzino attended a news conference with their attorney Gloria Allred concerning Filner's behavior. Tyler, a licensed vocational nurse, alleged that he made inappropriate advances on her while she was seeking help for a disabled Marine.
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