Gov. Edwards' Office: 'Sexual harassment in state government will not be tolerated.'

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards' office says an investigation is ongoing into sexual harassment allegations against a top aide who resigned after the accusations were made.

Edwards Chief of Staff Mark Cooper said Wednesday the administration takes the claims seriously against Johnny Anderson, who left his job last week as deputy chief of staff. Cooper said: "Sexual harassment in state government will not be tolerated."

Cooper's statement came after Republican Sen. Sharon Hewitt, of Slidell, asked the legislative auditor to review state government policies for handling sexual misconduct allegations. Hewitt questioned how Anderson was hired after he was accused of sexual harassment in 2006 when he worked for then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

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Anderson has denied wrongdoing in both sets of accusations.

Cooper says the administration's investigation will include a review of policies regarding sexual harassment across state government.

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