A woman who worked as a municipal employee has filed an ethics complaint against a state senator, who is also the mayor of a township and an assistant superintendent of a school district. The former employee says the senator sexually harassed her for two years beginning in February 2003.

The woman claims the sexual harassment began after she rejected his advances at a bar. He apparently left her insulting and threatening voicemail messages that were released to news outlets when the woman's complaint was filed.

In one recorded message, the man apparently calls her a derogatory name and then tells her, "You'd better realize what you just did. It's scary that you would be that stupid," according to NJ.com.

According to the complaint, the woman was subjected to a hostile work environment from that point forward. Because her job paid well, she says, she stayed with her department until 2005. The woman says she was afraid of the state senator, and that caused her to wait several years before filing the state ethics complaint.

Not surprisingly, a spokesperson for the New Jersey state senator says the recordings seem to be "doctored" and also questions the woman's credibility. She apparently had some financial difficulties after she was injured in a car accident. The spokesman also claims the woman's complaint is a "political smear job," NJ.com reports.

It's difficult to say what will become of the woman's complaint or whether the allegations can be proven. But no one should be subjected to harassment like she is claiming.

Source: NJ.com, "Secaucus woman accuses state Sen. Nicholas Sacco of sexual harassment," Jarrett Renshaw, Dec. 19, 2011