{"id":392356,"date":"2026-07-09T18:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T18:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/392356\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T18:44:13","slug":"sexual-assault-allegations-against-manny-yekutiel-roil-san-francisco-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/392356\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexual Assault Allegations Against Manny Yekutiel Roil San Francisco Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"

City gardener and community organizer Brad Chapin accused Yekutiel, who interned in the Obama White House and worked on Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 campaign for president, of sexual assault at a party in 2020.<\/p>\n

Chapin said Yekutiel grasped him aggressively and stuck his hand down his pants, groped his genitals and pulled hard as Chapin tried to push away.<\/p>\n

During the incident, Chapin said, Yekutiel lifted up Chapin\u2019s shirt, grabbed his belly and said \u201cew,\u201d humiliating him during an unwelcome sexual advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember being very scared,\u201d Chapin told KQED. \u201cEvery time I tried to get away, he would literally pull me back and squeeze harder, and the entire time he was staring at me in the eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the rally this week, organizers said they decided to avoid addressing specific cases in part to draw attention to the broader issue of sexual assault that happens across all industries, not just in politics. But for many in attendance, the recent allegations were top of mind.<\/p>\n

Former supervisor Mabel Teng was the sole speaker to address them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone who knows the recent publicized survivors and victims, I am free to call out their names, Judy and Brad,\u201d Teng said, also referring to Judy Lee, who recently accused<\/a> the Chinese Chamber of Commerce board president Donald Luu of harassment and retaliation.<\/p>\n

\"\"Supporters and community advocates gather during a rally for survivors of sexual assault and harassment at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco on July 7, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)<\/p>\n

The chamber organizes the city\u2019s Chinese New Year parade. Luu has since resigned and filed a defamation lawsuit against Lee, the chamber\u2019s program director. \u201cYou are not alone. And to all of the survivors and victims, we see you, we hear you, we feel you and we believe in you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yekutiel categorically denied the allegations and called them politically motivated. Chapin is a former vice president of the progressive Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, which has endorsed Yekutiel\u2019s opponent, Gary McCoy, in the District 8 race. Chapin denied that coming forward was politically driven.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do what these accusations suggest, and I do think it\u2019s because I am here and I\u2019m running for office that this is coming out now,\u201d Yekutiel told KQED. \u201cThe San Francisco Police Department looked into it, and there was nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SFPD didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Chapin, who is also gay, says the personal fallout has been traumatic. On social media, people have scrutinized his character and questioned his motives for coming forward after so many years.<\/p>\n

He has completely stepped away from political activism, saying it was detrimental to his mental health to be in those spaces after his experience with Yekutiel and other high-profile sexual assaults in politics.<\/p>\n

\"\"Supervisor Connie Chan speaks during a rally for survivors of sexual assault and harassment at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco on July 7, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople really don\u2019t understand how scary it is to come forward when there\u2019s not a lot of evidence,\u201d Chapin said. \u201cIn some ways, I think if someone is involved in politics, it does make it even less likely for [survivors] to come forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told friends about the incident shortly after it happened, text messages show, but Chapin said he waited years to publicly come forward out of fear and because Yekutiel was not running for public office at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was scared to tell another soul,\u201d Chapin said. He eventually filed a police report in April and came forward. \u201cI was so anxious about this person being in power and what would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before his accusations became public, Chapin said he reached out to several political figures he knows, including termed-out current District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who is still listed as endorsing Yekutiel, and for whom Chapin said he formerly helped organize and volunteered. But the supervisor isn\u2019t convinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t felt a reason to particularly doubt Manny\u2019s account. It was an event that was six years ago, and it hasn\u2019t caused me to reevaluate my endorsement,\u201d Mandelman told KQED. \u201cI think how long ago something supposedly happened matters. I think numbers and believability of accusations matter. Sometimes there\u2019s a flood that follows an initial accusation. I hope that\u2019s not the case here. But I do think this is very different from a situation where there\u2019s rumors from multiple people, and then someone comes forward, and then the dam breaks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Sticky notes with messages are posted on a white paper during a rally for survivors of sexual assault and harassment at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco on July 7, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)<\/p>\n

Eric Jaye, a political consultant who has donated to Yekutiel\u2019s campaign, said even serious accusations like Chapin\u2019s are processed politically in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican politics right now is so partisan and so divisive that you care about these accusations when they\u2019re leveled against somebody you oppose and you excuse or disbelieve them when they are directed to someone you support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The District 8 seat is crucial to moderates trying to keep their majority on the board. Yekutiel is facing off against McCoy, who most recently served as campaign manager for Rep. Nancy Pelosi\u2019s Save Our Healthcare initiative, and patent attorney Michael Nguyen.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians are going to take a watch-and-wait approach to this. If it\u2019s a one-off, I don\u2019t think it will have much impact on the race. If it emerges that there was a pattern, then that will be a different situation,\u201d Jaye said.<\/p>\n

If that prediction plays out, the case will stand in stark contrast to those of other politicians whose campaigns have swiftly collapsed in recent months.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, after multiple women accused Swalwell of drugging and raping them, he quickly lost support and exited the race for California governor.<\/p>\n

\"\"Supporters and community advocates gather during a rally for survivors of sexual assault and harassment at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco on July 7, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually with politicians, where there\u2019s smoke, there\u2019s fire. So the question is, is there something else? And I don\u2019t know that. But I think that\u2019s what a lot of [Yekutiel\u2019s] endorsers are waiting to see,\u201d said Ross. \u201cIf another person comes forward or another issue comes up, then it becomes much more fraught for his supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Yekutiel, some of the fallout could be economic. He has become a widely recognized Democratic pillar in San Francisco, where his cafe regularly hosts talks with government leaders and activists. He\u2019s amassed powerful allies in the city\u2019s Democratic sphere, including Mayor Daniel Lurie, with whom he started the Civic Joy Fund nonprofit. Lurie has so far not endorsed anyone in the District 8 race.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy supporters are going to make their own choices. The overwhelming majority of my supporters are standing strong with me,\u201d Yekutiel said. \u201cAnd the few people that did rescind their endorsement, I\u2019m looking forward to working with them as a supervisor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahmood, the supervisor, is on a committee focused on addressing sexual assault complaints within the San Francisco Democratic Party, which was formed following a series of allegations<\/a> in local Democratic clubs. The party adopted a new set of reporting policies<\/a> for sexual assault and harrassment in December 2024.<\/p>\n

But critics say there are flaws in the process. Chapin said he filed a complaint to the organization\u2019s ombudsperson and never received a response.<\/p>\n

\"\"Supervisor Bilal Mahmood speaks during a rally for survivors of sexual assault and harassment at San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco on July 7, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)<\/p>\n

Chair Nancy Tung declined to publicly comment on the reporting process or current allegations in the District 8 race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Democrats who made a big issue around sexual assault a few years ago, it was moderates attacking the progressives over that issue. And now they created a system and a process that was supposed to protect people and that pretty much failed,\u201d Ross, the political consultant, said.<\/p>\n

Chapin received a response from the party\u2019s ombudsperson after reporting about his allegations went public. The inquiry is ongoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been absolute hell, but I just couldn\u2019t not do it,\u201d Chapin said on his decision to come forward. \u201cThat\u2019s not a thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City gardener and community organizer Brad Chapin accused Yekutiel, who interned in the Obama White House and worked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-392356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}