Judge finds sexual assault claim against Colorado lawmaker “incredible,” casting doubt on allegations

And in a since-deleted statement posted by Kadi in December on X, formerly known as Twitter, she named Herod, alleging the lawmaker had sexually assaulted her and wouldn’t “own up” to it. She also said she’d been doxxed, threatened and harassed since coming forward.

Herod said she first heard about the allegations against her in June 2022, and that Kadi harassed her by taking pictures and videos of her at events and calling her a sexual abuser. Herod said her colleagues in the legislature have tried to use the allegations against her by citing them at the Capitol.

Herod herself addressed the allegations publicly multiple times in recent weeks.

When lawmakers were debating a bill that would protect sexual assault victims from shaming in court, Herod zeroed in on a provision related to the use of a prior history of false reports against a victim during a floor speech, referencing Kadi’s accusations against her.

She said it was important to allow certain information in court that would help a person defending themselves.

Herod again asked pointed questions in a committee hearing earlier this month related to workplace harassment investigations. She confirmed to The Post that she found out an investigation launched last year against her was based on a complaint filed by Kadi. Herod said the investigation was later dropped and she has not been able to obtain the records related to it. She also had to pay for legal counsel out of pocket, she said.

Herod said false assault allegations are common against Black people in elected positions, but she didn’t expect it to happen to her.

“It was extremely painful to see,” she said in the interview. “It was extremely shocking to see those types of allegations brought against me. It is harmful because, quite frankly, I’ve always fought for people, for women, and to believe women and folks who have been sexually assaulted or harassed. And I would never even put myself in a situation where that could be an issue — and I didn’t.”

She also called for an end to false narratives that queer elected officials are abusers.

Kadi’s initial request in the Denver court for a restraining order against Herod stemmed from an incident on Jan. 10, in which Kadi said Herod “physically intimidated me by entering my personal space in my place of work, in a way that made me scared for my physical safety.” She also said she was assaulted in Herod’s home on Dec. 18, 2019, and listed other dates of incidents that she said included violence or threats. She alleged that Herod flirted with her and made advances toward her.

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