The Assembly Ethics Committee reached a ?not guilty? verdict in the case of Assemblyman Greg Ball (R), who was accused of sexually harassing a former staffer.

The allegations against Ball were made in September, shortly before the end of a contentious primary campaign for the GOP nomination in the 99th Assembly District. The accuser, 60-year-old Evelyn Perrault, claimed the assemblyman once asked if she and her husband engaged in a certain type of sexual activity.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was a frequent target of Ball's criticism in Albany, referred the woman's complaint to the Assembly's Ethics Committee.

However, according to documents presented by Ball, Perrault herself had been the target of sexual harassment allegations at a prior job, where she was a supervisor. In one case, Perrault allegedly had a sex toy that she would let a male subordinate wear in his pants around the office.

"There was a whole list of affidavits from individuals that she worked with, and that was only one example,? Ball says.

Ball contends the woman's allegations were part of a smear campaign organized by his opponent, former Brewster Mayor John Degnan (D). Degnan, however, denies these claims.

"Frankly, I never met the woman, the former employee that made the allegations against Mr. Ball," Degnan says.

On Sept. 9, Degnan lost the Democratic nomination to Ball by a 3-1 margin.