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She said that if she were traveling for work, Candappa made efforts to work in or visit the same city at the same time, insisting she meet him over dinner or drinks. She said she feared that declining his requests might have negative consequences for her career, and so she agreed.
One evening in April 2015, she said in the complaint she agreed to meet Candappa after a corporate dinner. Candappa, who was visiting from New York City, asked her to join him in his hotel room so he could drop off his suitcase. She declined, horrified that a senior editor would invite a female subordinate to his hotel room, and waited downstairs for him.
Later, she said he insisted on walking her home, despite her repeatedly telling him that she could go alone. When they arrived at her door, Candappa grabbed her and tried to kiss her. She pushed him away and quickly went inside. The next day in the office, he told her she was “heartbreakingly beautiful,” according to the complaint.
On another evening in May 2015, the complainant agreed to meet Candappa for a drink. He told her that he could be helpful to her career with Reuters, and that he wanted to assist her. He also said he was looking for love, and that he was unhappy in his marriage. “I want to cum — to release myself and not worry about it,” he told her, according to the complaint. She said she tactfully refused his advances. She told him that because she worked in his chain of command, it would not be appropriate for her to become involved with him. Candappa then appeared visibly angered, the complaint said, and told her “you need to think about ‘us.’”
Worried about losing her job if she rebuffed him again, she began to cry, said she wanted to go, and left abruptly. The next day, she was stunned that Candappa approached her in the office and said, “I want you to seriously think and consider what I told you last night.”
Though her work cell and landline numbers were available through the corporate directory, Candappa asked her in May 2015 for her personal phone number. He used it repeatedly to call her to discuss non-work-related topics, according to the complaint. She tried to avoid his calls and meetings, but maintained a friendly demeanor so she didn’t offend him. She said she never asked him to call her except for a work-related reason.
In one phone call in May 2015, Candappa called her “hot” and said she “looks good in everything she wears.” He referred to himself as “the most powerful man in Reuters America.”
The complaint said Candappa frequently sent her text messages and emails, often at early hours of the morning. His texts, she said in the complaint, included comments such as:
“I may quit and come after you. Be warned.”
“You've not responded to my hints about send me a picture so I guess I should make the trip in person.”
“I’ve been thinking about you. Always on my mind.”
During this time, the complaint said she worried that if she declined his requests for dinner, or didn’t reply to his messages, her career would suffer. She tried to dodge him but also felt pressured to appease him. She said she was terrified of losing her job because she provided financial support for her parents.
At one point, she said in the complaint, she grew so emotionally exhausted that she considered accepting a non-journalism job elsewhere. She confided in a colleague that she felt like resigning because she could no longer tolerate Candappa’s advances. The colleague encouraged her to stay in her chosen industry.
In May 2015, he told her he felt she wasn’t being responsive to him and that she wasn’t interested in him. According to the complaint, he told her “that is not good” in an “ominous” tone on a phone call. In an effort to appease him, she reverted back to taking a more relaxed, friendly tone with him in emails and texts.
Candappa pressured her for a sexual relationship at least three more times between October and November 2015, according to the complaint. He told her he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and pushed her to start a sexual relationship with him over a lunch. She rebuffed him, but he angrily replied she needed to give him a chance and change her behavior.
“Why can't you just give yourself the chance to see where this goes… I’m not here to hurt your career, I’m only here to help you.”
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https://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalyn/newsweek-media-group
