1428: Carl DeMaio – Republican Sexual Predators

Carl DeMaio is a Republican member of the California Assembly. Previously he was a member of the San Diego City Council and an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor. He ran for Congress in 2014 and 2020. In 2024 he ran for California Assembly and won. Three people have claimed to have witnessed him masturbating, nonconsensual sexual displays. Two have claimed he sexually harassed them.

In 2013, Sen. Ben Hueso (D) claimed he witnessed DeMaio masturbating in a city hall men’s room and that DeMaio was startled, apologized, and fled. Councilwoman Marti Emerald said she saw Hueso come out of the men’s room looking shocked and that he told her what happened. DeMaio denied it. Several allies said they never saw him do that so he must not have done it, an example of the logical fallacy argumentum ad ignorantiam or appeal to ignorance.
The second allegation came from a former staffer who had been fired for plagiarism. He claimed that DeMaio masturbated in front of him and grabbed him in the crotch. He also claimed to have received anonymous e-mail threats, implying to law enforcement they may have come from DeMaio. He confessed that he faked the e-mails. He also confessed to burglarizing and vandalizing DeMaio’s office. Prosecutors stated that his confession did not mean his allegation was false.
The third allegation was from a former staffer who left on good terms with a recommendation. He also is a DeMaio supporter and was not going to say anything because he assumed his experience was a one-time mistake on DeMaio’s part. However, the allegations from #2 sounded so much like his own experience, he concluded it might be a pattern of behavior and so he came forward.

The crimes of the second accuser unfortunately have tainted all three allegations, so DeMaio claims to have been cleared. Most newspapers do the same. Several do not even mention the last accuser, a man who likes DeMaio. It seems the second accuser has insulated DeMaio from all three allegations.

Currently DeMaio is fighting the referendum to redistrict California in response to Texas’ redistricting. He has filed an initiative that he calls a “poison pill” to block anyone who votes for the referral from running for office for ten years.