California Republican accused of 2015 rape by former Capitol staffer

In the latest accusation filed against against Assemblyman Bill Brough, a former legislative staffer has submitted a complaint to Sacramento County officials alleging the Dana Point Republican raped her in 2015.

Patricia Todd, a longtime Capitol staffer, said Brough assaulted her after a dinner in Sacramento five and a half years ago while she was working for Republican Sen. John Moorlach, according to a Thursday report by the Orange County Register.

After the attack, Todd said she was “left physically injured and alone,” and later suffered from depression and fear over retaliation from Brough should she come forward with her story, the report said.

“Would he show up at the house? Would he hurt my daughter?” Todd told the Register. “You never know what someone is really going to do when they’re cornered. So it’s a fear that has been always there.”

Todd said the assault occurred in her car in July of 2015 following a dinner the two had together at the Elephant Bar.

Todd said during the dinner, which she drove both of them to, Brough offered her a secretarial job working for the just-forming California Irish Legislative Caucus. The position, he said, according to Todd, would come with additional “perks.” Brough appeared intoxicated before the dinner, Todd said, and drank throughout the meal.

After rejecting his proposition and quickly ending the dinner, Todd said, the two began the drive back home. After Brough asked her to pull over, Todd claimed, he “attacked her” and “pinned her down,” according to the Register. Todd said she screamed for Brough to stop until she became hoarse. She said she wasn’t able to move or breathe during the assault.

After the incident, Todd said Brough asked her to drive him to another bar. She said she was bleeding on her way home to Elk Grove and immediately contemplated suicide.

The Sacramento Police Department confirmed to The Sacramento Bee that Todd had filed a complaint and it was investigating the allegations.

Moorlach’s chief of staff, Tim Clark, confirmed to the Register that Todd told him about the attack after it happened.

Brough, who represents Orange County but lost his reelection campaign in the March primary, has faced multiple allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior. Some of the claims include Brough making “unwanted sexual advances” toward unidentified individuals and “propositioning them for sex.”

Brough will leave office on Monday, when the Legislature gavels in its 2021-22 session.

In May of this year, following a 2019 workplace investigation that substantiated claims that Brough inappropriately touched and offered individuals “political favors in exchange for sex,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, removed the Republican of his committee assignments and ordered him to take harassment and discrimination training.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission also initiated its own inquiry last year into Brough’s campaign finances to determine whether the member had tapped into funds for personal use.

Brough did not respond to a Thursday email inquiry from The Sacramento Bee, but previously had said he disagreed with the findings of the May investigation, which he called a “politically motivated process.” At the time, Brough said he was looking at “legal options.”

“I categorically deny harassing or offering political favors to anyone,” Brough said. “I will take the recommended training. I also want to apologize to my family, friends and supporters for putting them through this unfair process.”

Todd told the Register that she decided to share her allegations publicly after reading about other women’s complaints against Brough.

“If something had escalated to my level, there has to be more,” she said. “There have to be other women out there who are too scared, that are staying in the shadows, that don’t want to come forward or can’t come forward.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 6:52 PM.