Fox has settled a sexual assault claim involving VP of Fox News Latino Francisco Cortés for over $2.5 million.
Former Fox News contributor Tamara N. Holder claims Cortés sexually assaulted her in February of 2015 at the company’s New York headquarters, but didn’t report the incident until September of last year, after Roger Ailes’ ouster and $20 million sexual harassment settlement with anchor Gretchen Carlson.
The New York Times was the first to report the story late Wednesday night after reviewing documents about the claims and interviewing people with knowledge of Holder’s account.
Fox News and Tamara Holder have released a joint statement about the case:
“In September 2016 Fox News contributor Tamara Holder reported an incident of sexual assault at Fox News headquarters from the prior year. Immediately after Ms. Holder notified Fox News of the alleged incident, the Company promptly investigated the matter and took decisive action, for which Ms. Holder thanks the network. Following the completion of her contract on January 1, 2017, Ms. Holder left the network. Fox News is grateful to Ms. Holder for her many contributions during her tenure at the network and wishes her continued success.”
A company spokesperson would not elaborate about the investigation or Cortés’ termination.
Cortés’ attorney, Jay Sanchez, responded told Media Moves via email: “I’ve instructed my client not to comment. I am presently considering Mr. Cortes’ legal options.”
By the time Fox News Latino was shut down in December of 2016, Cortés had allegedly already been terminated.
The spokesperson would not address the shutdown of the Latino-targeted website, but a company source says it was unrelated to the sexual assault case reported against Cortés.
You can read more details on Forbes.