Adams County Commissioners requested the resignation of the county’s treasurer after multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior toward staff members.

Treasurer Alex Villagran has declined to step down.

An independent investigation by Employment Matters LLC Flynn Investigations Group found multiple allegations against Villagran to be credible, according to an Adams County Board of Commissioners news release Friday. Villagran likely sexually harassed multiple county employees, and is accused of unwanted touching and comments of a sexual nature.

According to the report, Villagran talked to one female employee unprompted about his sex life at home and “pumped his arms and pelvis … to simulate sex” at another female employee. On three or four occasions, he also allegedly adjusted her bra strap, the report said.

The most recent reports of harassment are not the first, according to the report, which points to previous reports from other women in 2023.

One such report describes Villagran “looking women up and down,” hugging women and touching their lower backs or shoulders.

Another report said Villagran kissed a female employee on the forehead and she was “shell-shocked.”

The investigator, Suzanne Pariser, interviewed 11 people, the report shows, and Villagran declined to participate in an investigative interview.

Instead, Villagran submitted a statement to the investigator on Aug. 29 through a lawyer.

Villagran denies much of what is alleged, the statement said, and asserts that he has “never treated any employees … different in any manner based on the sex of such employee.”

“He has also never made any sexual demand or advance toward any employee,” the statement said.

Any comments Villagran made about his personal life and issues were not directed at any employees because of their gender, the statement said, but rather Villagran’s personal issues that occupied his mind “at all times.”

Villagran also has “physical limitations and cultural differences” that may be perceived as other than what they are or are intended to be, the statement said.

The investigator called his denials “weak” and said it is “more likely than not” that Villagran “has made various unwelcome and objectively offensive remarks” and “unwelcome and offensive physical contact” to Adams County employees.

The county declined to respond to questions about the investigation from The Denver Gazette. Those questions included how much it cost taxpayers.

Villagran, who was elected to the position in 2022, began his term in January 2023 and has one year remaining in office.

When asked by the board to resign, Villagran declined, according to the release. As an independently elected official, Villagran is not under the board’s authority.

Villagran did not respond to The Denver Gazette’s request for comment on the matter.

“We are deeply disappointed with this situation,” Lynn Baca, the board chair, said in the release. “However, Adams County remains committed to a safe and respectful environment for employees and visitors alike.”

Villagran has been working from home and only going to the office after hours and on weekends, per the county’s requests of him, according to the statement in the report from his lawyer.

He is also open to counseling “if deemed necessary,” the statement said.

Details of this investigation were first published by The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9NEWS.