Pennsylvania Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP

Pennsylvania state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, who has been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct, has sued The Philadelphia Inquirer and one of its reporters, contending that the publication defamed him with its coverage of the controversy around him and that the reporter was "colluding" with an accuser.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Lamb McErlane attorney Joseph Podraza. The lawsuit raises one count of defamation.

In the lawsuit, Leach accused reporter Angela Couloumbis of "colluding" with Cara Taylor to circulate a private criminal complaint that alleged Leach coerced her to perform oral sex on him in 1991 when he was defending her mother in a criminal case. At the time, Leach would have been 30 and Taylor would have been 17. Leach sued Taylor in January, alleging defamation.

In the lawsuit against the Inquirer, Leach said there were many inconsistencies and "impossibilities" in Taylor's story, which, to his knowledge, gave the newspaper pause about reporting it.

But, the senator said, Couloumbis "pressed" Taylor to present her claims to a governmental authority, and, after Taylor's unsigned criminal complaint was made public through an inquiry by Senate Democrats, the Inquirer reported on the allegations.

Leach, in his complaint Wednesday, said Taylor's lawsuit—which the Inquirer reported under the "fair report" privilege—was "a sham proceeding [the newspaper] and Taylor conspired to initiate." Leach also alleged that, in their coverage of Taylor's claims, the paper further failed to mention the inconsistencies in Taylor's story, or disclose Couloumbis' alleged involvement in helping make the complaint public.

"The purpose of the collaboration between Taylor and Couloumbis was undeniably to stage a governmental forum the defendants could exploit in order to publish false accusations against Senator Leach," Leach said in the 23-page complaint.

Leach practiced law for 17 years, focusing on criminal, constitutional and appellate litigation, according to his web biography. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002 and Pennsylvania Senate six years later.

In an emailed statement, editor and vice president of The Inquirer, Gabriel Escobar, said, "We completely stand by our reporting and will not comment any further on this pending litigation."

The Inquirer reported in 2017 that Leach had previously engaged in inappropriate touching and sexualized talk with volunteers and staffers, and subsequently reported on the allegations outlined in Taylor's private criminal complaint. According to the lawsuit, in total, the paper published 43 articles rehashing the allegations against him.

Leach's lawsuit comes two weeks after an outside law firm retained by the Senate Democratic caucus to investigate the harassment allegations issued its report. The report by Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott said Leach had "engaged in joking and humor that was immature and unprofessional. At times, such jokes and humor were unquestionably sexual in nature," but ultimately found "no evidence of actionable discrimination or harassment in violation of applicable law or caucus policies."

Leach stated in his lawsuit against the Inquirer that the caucus report "debunk[ed]" Couloumbis' reporting, which, Leach said, "exaggerated and gratuitously sexualized otherwise benign interactions."

The lawsuit also said an article Couloumbis wrote in October 2017 discussing inappropriate and sexualized conduct in the state Capitol revealed the reporter had an "agenda" when she looked into claims about Leach's alleged conduct.

However, according to the complaint, Leach was unaware of Couloumbis' alleged proactive involvement in disseminating Taylor's allegations until discovery took place in a lawsuit filed by Leach against Taylor.

"Put simply, rather than reporting the news objectively, Couloumbis and the Inquirer helped stage the widespread dissemination of false information against Senator Leach to advance their own substantive biases, to increase the paper's sales and profits and, later, to cover their tracks," Leach said.

Couloumbis said the allegations aren't true.

Podraza declined to comment for this story.

READ THE COMPLAINT: