"I frankly was not aware of the extent to which workplace sexual violence existed"

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, who has come under fire for declining to prosecute some powerful men accused of sexual violence, said Thursday that he did not realize how widespread workplace sexual violence was prior to the #MeToo movement.

“I frankly was not aware of the extent to which workplace sexual violence existed, and perhaps I should have been,” Vance said Thursday on BuzzFeed News’ AM to DM morning show. “I did not understand the full scope of it.”…

Vance defended his decisions to not prosecute famous sexual assault cases in the past — something for which he has faced widespread criticism.

In 2011, he dropped charges of sexual assault against French politician and former managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn.