An investigation into allegations made by Marwa Khudaynazar against Idowu, a prominent city official, has concluded without evidence of any violations of the city’s sexual harassment policies.
The inquiry was initiated following a Globe article that detailed Khudaynazar’s claims of inappropriate advances made by Idowu while they both worked for the city.
However, a memo released on Wednesday noted that Khudaynazar, through her lawyer, chose not to participate in the investigation.
Despite requests for comment from the Globe, Khudaynazar did not respond immediately.
As part of the investigation, officials interviewed available witnesses, reviewed media reports, and examined relevant documents and text messages exchanged between Idowu and Khudaynazar.
The memo highlighted that Khudaynazar never formally reported her allegations to the city.
The investigation’s findings stated, “The investigation did not reveal any facts that suggest Mr. Idowu violated the city’s policy prohibiting sexual harassment, either by creating a hostile work environment or engaging in quid pro quo harassment, or any other workforce policies.”
City officials did not provide further details on the investigation or respond to inquiries from the Globe, including whether the findings contradicted Khudaynazar’s account of events involving a night out at a bar.
In a statement released through his attorney, Idowu expressed feelings of vindication, characterizing the investigation’s summary as a response to weeks of what he termed “politically motivated defamatory accusations” against him.
The controversy began in mid-May when Boston police responded to a domestic incident at a Chinatown apartment, which involved Khudaynazar and her boyfriend, Chulan Huang, both employees at City Hall.
During the police intervention early on May 15, Khudaynazar and Huang were reported to be in a heated argument, prompting officers to separate them.
Ultimately, both Khudaynazar and Huang were arrested; Khudaynazar faced charges of assault and battery on a household member and assault and battery on a police officer, with Huang charged for assault and battery on a household member.
Both individuals pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following the incident, the city placed Khudaynazar and Huang on unpaid leave, pending an investigation.
Subsequently, both were terminated after five days as city officials determined they had tried to leverage their roles as City Hall employees to avoid arrest, which Wu stated was a violation of the city’s ethics policies.
Khudaynazar challenged this assertion in a Globe article published on June 9, accusing city officials of misinterpreting her comments and hastily terminating her and Huang to protect Idowu.
In her accusations, Khudaynazar alleged that prior to the altercation with Huang, Idowu made sexual overtures towards her at a bar on the night of May 14, including an invitation to a hotel room, which she declined.
She shared a text message she claimed Idowu sent her at 12:47 a.m., featuring an upside-down smile emoji and stating, “I’m in the room. I know you’re not gonna join me but I hope I’ve proven that I don’t talk shit and I mean what I say. Let me know when you get home.”
Khudaynazar recounted that the fight with Huang arose after she disclosed the encounter with Idowu, ultimately leading to their arrests.
She claimed city officials did not inquire about events preceding the arrests during the investigation and argued that references to her job at City Hall were meant to illustrate her belief that the police were inappropriately escalating the situation.
In response to the case, Wu defended the initial handling of the investigation but announced that a new probe would be conducted by an external law firm to further investigate Khudaynazar’s allegations.
City spokesperson Emma Pettit expressed gratitude to Stoneman, Chandler & Miller LLP for their comprehensive examination of the matter in a terse statement.
Idowu maintained that he did not breach any rules, policies, or ethical and legal codes of conduct in his statement on Wednesday.
“While this vindication does not erase the pain that defamatory public statements, text messages, and online commentary has caused me, my family, and my community, I look forward to continuing my work to create greater economic equity across the city unabated and without distraction,” Idowu stated.
As a key aide to Mayor Wu, Idowu also suggested that political opponents, including mayoral candidate Josh Kraft, were attempting to exploit the allegations against him to undermine Wu’s standing as she seeks re-election.
Kraft claimed this incident and the handling of it suggested an underlying workplace culture and ethics challenge at the highest echelons of City Hall.
image source from：bostonglobe
