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| San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to seek therapy amid harassment claims | San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to seek therapy amid harassment claims |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The mayor of San Diego, California, has said he will attend "behaviour counselling" amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. | |
| Seven women have now accused Bob Filner, 70, of unwelcome advances, some of them physical. | |
| The local Democratic committee voted by 34-6 on Thursday for the leader of the nation's eighth-largest city to quit. | |
| In a news conference, Mr Filner said his behaviour had been "inexcusable", but did not say he was stepping down. | |
| "I have apologised to my staff, I have apologised to the women I have offended," said the divorced 70-year-old on Friday. | |
| He went on: "I am responsible for my conduct and I must take responsibility for my conduct by taking actions so that such conduct does not ever happen again. | He went on: "I am responsible for my conduct and I must take responsibility for my conduct by taking actions so that such conduct does not ever happen again. |
| "So beginning on August fifth I will be entering a behaviour counselling clinic to undergo two weeks of intensive therapy to begin the process of addressing my behaviour." | "So beginning on August fifth I will be entering a behaviour counselling clinic to undergo two weeks of intensive therapy to begin the process of addressing my behaviour." |
| 'Headlocks' | |
| Mr Filner's problems began two weeks ago when Donna Frye, a former councilwoman and onetime supporter, called on him to step down, saying she had evidence that he had harassed women. | |
| He responded with a video apology, calling his behaviour "inappropriate and wrong", declaring: "I need help." | |
| Then on Monday, Mr Filner's former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson, filed a lawsuit against him and the city. | |
| She alleged he had asked her to work without underwear, told her he wanted to see her naked and put her in a "headlock" numerous times while making unwelcome advances. | |
| On Thursday evening, four prominent San Diegan women went public with their own detailed accusations on a local broadcaster. | |
| Veronica Froman, a retired rear admiral known as San Diego's "navy mayor", said Mr Filner once blocked her from leaving a room, ran his finger up her cheek and asked if she had a man in her life. | |
| The president of the city's port tenants' association, Sharon Bernie-Cloward, said Mr Filner had groped her on her bottom at an event last year. | |
| "I was left there startled and fearful," she was quoted as saying by US media. "In fact, I actually had someone walk me to my car that night." | |
| Patti Roscoe, a businesswoman who had known Mr Filner for decades, said he had placed her in a headlock numerous times, trying to kiss her on the lips. | |
| "I'd have to squirm to get away," she said. "And just as recently as a few months ago this happened. I turned and he just slobbered down my chin." | |
| A vote last week by the San Diego Democratic Party Central Committee for Mr Filner to quit ended in a 24-24 deadlock. | |
| But as very public accusers lined up to point the finger at the mayor, the committee took a firmer stance. | |
| "It speaks to the extent of the problem that the mayor has to address," said Francine Busby, the county party chairwoman. |