Sexual assault suit against LA-area Rep. Tony Cardenas dropped
Congressman Tony Cardenas, whose political career was threatened by the allegation that he drugged and molested a 16-year-old, appears to be in the clear after his accuser agreed Wednesday to drop her lawsuit.
The end of the suit against Cardenas, a Democrat from Panorama City, came 2 1/2 months after plaintiff Angela Villela Chavez’s attorney said she had to withdraw from the case for unspecified ethical reasons.
Attorneys for both sides said the fourth-term U.S. representative agreed not to seek reimbursement from her for court costs or to sue her for malicious prosecution, but Cardenas did not agree to pay Chavez any money. Superior Court Judge Steven Kleifield dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Chavez can’t bring it back to court.
“Today all false allegations have been dismissed and these claims can never be filed again,” Cardenas said in a statement. “There is no place in our society for such untruths.
“In this case, the truth prevailed. And I humbly thank my family, community and constituents who know I am a person of integrity.”
Chavez could not be reached for comment. She told the Los Angeles Times after a court hearing Wednesday that she regretted choosing Lisa Bloom as her attorney. It remained unclear why the now-28-year-old woman decided not to pursue the case with a different lawyer.
Bloom said in a statement: “Ms. Chavez has been through a difficult experience and I wish her all the best.”
The case became public in May 2018, at a time when politics in the Los Angeles area was in turmoil over sexual-misconduct allegations against several Democratic legislators. Charges forced the resignations of California Assemblymen Raul Bocanegra and Matt Dababneh and state Sen. Tony Mendoza. While others faced multiple accusations, Cardenas faced just the one.
Cardenas’ attorney Patricia Glazer called the 56-year-old Pacoima native “brave” for fighting the allegation. He’d been accused of sexually assaulting Chavez during a golf outing in 2007, when Cardenas was a Los Angeles city councilman representing the northeast San Fernando Valley.
“A lot of these ‘Me Too’ allegations are enough to bury people,” said Glazer, who said the case ended with a “resolution,” not a “settlement.” “He refused to be buried. He always insisted he never did anything wrong. He was determined to do battle to clear his name, and in my view he was 100% successful.”
Glazer added: “There are so many people who have very worthwhile allegations that need to see the light of day, and things need to be changed. This, in our view, wasn’t one of those cases.”
Cardenas initially faced calls for him to resign, including a demonstration outside his Panorama City district office by about 20 northeast Valley activists on May 21, 2018, the week after a judge ruled there was “a reasonable and meritorious basis” for the lawsuit to go forward.
Republican activist David Hernandez, who helped to organize the demonstration, said Wednesday he didn’t regret trying to end Cardenas’ career over the accusation.
“The fact it has come to this type of a resolution doesn’t necessarily mean this proves it (the alleged assault) didn’t happen,” Hernandez said, acknowledging it seems Cardenas will face “absolutely no ramifications from it.”
It was thought the allegation would complicate Cardenas’ 2018 bid for re-election in the 29th House District, which includes Van Nuys, San Fernando, Sylmar, Pacoima, Arleta, Sun Valley and North Hollywood. But the mostly Democratic district gave him 66.7% of the votes against three opponents in the June primary and 80.6% against Republican Benny Bernal in November.