INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said he was “running from things” at a Saturday concert on the city’s northeast side.

Lauren Roberts, Hogsett’s former deputy campaign manager, told News 8 his comments were “not surprising, but disappointing.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a rough weekend for people who work for him,” Roberts said. “The fact that his behavior on Saturday, and making a quote-unquote joke about this situation and the accountability coming his way is really not surprising, but it is disappointing.”

News 8 reached out to Hogsett’s team for clarification.

“It was a comment taken out of context from the Mike Epps concert about something he heard from the crowd,” his office said. “It was not about the issue.”

In August, Roberts shared her story of sexual harassment from Hogsett’s former Deputy Mayor Thomas Cook. Roberts first reported what happened in 2017, specifically telling Hogsett.

Hogsett’s comments come as the Indianapolis City-County Council is set to consider passing the formation of an investigation committee to look into how the Hogsett administration handles sexual harassment inside city offices.

Roberts says she is grateful the council is taking action, but also says certain members have known she was sexually harassed since 2017.

“There are people on City-County Council who knew about my case going back as early as 2017,” Roberts said. “I’m curious what kind of accountability there is for other people in power, aside from the mayor, who were aware of my case, and perhaps others … but didn’t take the action that they should have at the time.”

Since Roberts and former city staffer Caroline Ellert went public with their experiences, Hogsett has faced mounting backlash regarding what he knew of Cook’s actions. Hogsett says the allegations were investigated when Roberts first came forward in 2017.

News 8 has requested documentation of the 2017 investigation several times. No documentation has been publicly released.

“My suspicion is that they don’t exist,” Roberts said. “There’s no record of campaign spending or city spending on my case. The mayor is all but calling me a liar publicly now and saying that I was contacted as part of an investigation. I was not.”

Cook was officially removed from his leadership role last year during Hogsett’s 2023 campaign.

That scrutiny increased last week when an additional city employee, Matt Pleasant, the administrator of the Division of Current Planning, was fired for sexual misconduct.

After an investigation, the city government says, it found “overwhelming evidence that supports the allegations.”

Allegations against Rusty Carr, former director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, came to light, too.

Carr resigned as the director of the Department of Metropolitan Development in 2023. Carr then went to work for The Parks Alliance of Indianapolis. The organization says they were not aware of the allegations when they hired him.

In a statement, Hogsett said he immediately forwarded the allegations against Carr to the city’s Human Resources Department.

Since the allegations first became public, Hogsett has rolled out an anonymous sexual harassment reporting system for city employees and announced he would require annual workplace training to address the issue.

Previous Coverage

• City of Indianapolis fires employee amid sexual misconduct review
• Mayor Hogsett talks about sexual harassment investigation
• Anonymous sexual harassment reporting website rolls out for City-County employees
• City-County Council unveils plan to address harassment allegations
• Panel could look into mayor’s office handling of sexual harassment allegations
• Hogsett signs new order on sexual harassment prevention
• Democratic Indiana state senator blasts handling of sexual harassment accusations
• Hogsett to sign executive order on sexual harassment prevention training
• Accusers of mayor’s former aide hope story will inspire other women
• ‘I would like him to apologize’: Former staffers demand changes from Hogsett after claims of abuse by aide
• Indianapolis councilors propose changes to sexual harassment policies
• City-County Council vows better protections amid sexual harassment scandal
• ‘UnPHILtered’ | Hogsett’s former chief of staff accused of sexual harassment
• Councilors react to former chief of staff sexual harassment allegations
• Former Hogsett Chief of Staff accused of inappropriate relationships with subordinates