After news broke of a lawsuit filed by a former county employee against San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher alleging sexual assault, among other claims, another woman has come forward to report sexual assault by Fletcher while she was a 19-year-old intern for Fletcher's foundation and a student at University of California San Diego. Since reaching out for comment on this issue, Fletcher has since announced his impending resignation.
In 2015, 19-year-old UC San Diego student named Amanda (surname is removed to protect her identity) applied for an internship on UC San Diego's Facebook page for an unpaid position with Nathan Fletcher's veteran-oriented non-profit Three Wise Men Foundation. Under the supervision of Kaylee Wilson, the foundation's Executive Assistant at the time, Amanda assisted with fundraising efforts for the annual U.S.S. Midway event supporting veterans. At the time, Fletcher was a Professor in Practice of Political Science at the university, a position UC San Diego created in 2013 with their first appointment being Nathan Fletcher. He continues in this role at the La Jolla-based univeristy to this day.
In September 2015, Amanda joined Kaylee on a trip to Minnesota to promote the Three Wise Men Foundation at the Kill Cliff Granite Games Crossfit-style competition. In the beginning of the trip, it is alleged that Kaylee offered Amanda wine, despite her being under the legal drinking age.
Nathan eventually joined them on the trip and, it is alleged he immediately expressed interest in Amanda. Speaking to veterans, Amanda and Nathan engaged in conversations about his time serving in the military.
During a group photo, it is alleged that Fletcher slid his hand down Amanda's back, around her waist and down her backside. At one point, Fletcher is also said to have commented on how "hot" she was and allegedly touched Amanda inappropriately, running his hand down the back of her pants, over her buttocks and up toward her genital area. She was shocked and appalled by his actions but, being in a different state without funds, Amanda remained on the trip, feeling cornered.
Later that evening, it is alleged Amanda went to a late dinner with Kaylee, who is said to have invited Fletcher without Amanda's prior knowledge. When he arrived, Fletcher is said to have slid close to Amanda in the booth, pressing his body against hers. Amanda believed Kaylee must have noticed. Kaylee eventually excused herself to the bathroom and, at this point, Fletcher allegedly called Amanda a "tease" and told her not to tell anyone because he was in a relationship. That night, it is alleged that Fletcher sent Amanda explicit, inappropriate text messages, including a request she give him a massage in his hotel room.
It is further alleged that the following day, before their flight home, Amanda was readying to leave the hotel when she was confronted by Fletcher in an elevator. Fletcher allegedly grabbed her phone and demanded Amanda delete his texts from the previous evening.
Following the events in Minnesota, Amanda returned to UC San Diego but said she never went back to intern with Fletcher's foundation. She was purportedly contacted by Kaylee who was concerned she missed work. Amanda explained to Kaylee her discomfort with Fletcher on the trip, but Kaylee allegedly insisted Fletcher was just a “charming man who is flirty with everyone,” according to her memory. Emails forwarded from Fletcher's office from this time period confirm this conversation occurred in some capacity.
Later in the school year, Amanda explained she went to the UCSD Sexual Assault Resource Center to report what had happened. Though the woman who took the report demonstrated sympathy, to Amanda's knowledge, no further action was taken.
We reached out to UCSD's Sexual Assault Resource Center and other school administrators, Kaylee Wilson, and Nathan Fletcher's office for comment. Nathan Fletcher's office, through the Director of Communications, first forwarded the below email chain in PDF format as a response to our outreach. He then called and emailed to ensure it would be included within the context of this article.
