Cain Accuser Stands By Allegations of Sexual Harassment

The attorney for a woman who accused U.S. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment says his client alleged several incidents in a complaint filed more than a decade ago.

Attorney Joel Bennett said Friday that his client made her complaint “in good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances.” Bennett also said the woman accepted a financial settlement as part of an agreement to leave her job at the National Restaurant Association, where Cain was chief executive officer at the time. Bennett told reporters his client sees no value in revisiting the complaint and prefers to remain private.

The restaurant association issued its own statement confirming that in July 1999, Bennett’s client filed a formal internal complaint and that Cain disputed the allegations. The statement said the association and the woman subsequently entered into an agreement to resolve the matter, without any admission of liability. The statement said Cain was not a party to that agreement.

The Republican candidate says he has never sexually harassed anyone. Two other women have made similar accusations against him. Cain has said he was falsely accused.

Cain is a conservative African-American businessman whose only previous foray into politics ended in a failed bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia. He is at or near the top in national polls of Republican candidates who hope to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama in next year’s presidential election.

On Friday, Cain delivered a speech to a friendly audience in Washington to pitch his trademark “9-9-9″ tax reform plan.

Earlier in the week, he denied any wrongdoing in a speech before the National Press Club.