Exclusive: Former babysitter to RFK Jr.'s kids speaks about sexual assault allegation

The only person Eliza Cooney told what happened was her mom.

Then Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president.

Cooney knew then she had to speak. So, this summer, she went public with her story. About how Kennedy, a man closer to her father’s age really, groped her when she worked as a live-in nanny for his family. She was 23 years old.

“I know that there are hardworking people who don’t have skeletons in their closet,” Cooney said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. “And I wish we were electing people with fewer skeletons in their closet.”

Kennedy abandoned his bid for president when his candidacy failed to gain any traction and threw his support to Republican Donald Trump, who was elected on Nov. 5. Trump rewarded Kennedy by nominating him to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy’s nomination for a prominent position in Trump’s administration has put a spotlight back on Cooney’s allegations of sexual abuse. Three other men Trump has nominated to high-level jobs in his administration − Elon Musk, Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth − also have faced accusations of sexual misconduct, raising questions about their past and complicating their pathway to government service.

USA TODAY reached out to Trump's transition team and a lawyer for Kennedy's nonprofit for comment on this story.

“It’s remarkable that it’s as prevalent as it is,” Cooney said. "And I just wonder – have we made any progress? This is like a rewind."

'It happened so quickly'

Cooney was out of college in 1999 when she began working for Kennedy at his environmental law clinic during the week and on weekends as the family's babysitter.

As part of the job, she moved into the Kennedy house in Mount Kisco, New York.

Kennedy had three kids who lived with him, and two kids from a previous marriage who visited on weekends. She knew Kennedy men had reputations for being wealthy, goodlooking, and forward with women, but she was still shocked.

“It surprised me that it happened so quickly,” she said.

One night, there was a meeting in the family kitchen with Kennedy and another person who was there to talk about work related to the law clinic. She said she felt Kennedy rubbing her leg under the table.

Another time, she said a shirtless Kennedy, then 46, appeared in her bedroom doorway asking her to rub lotion on him. She said she unenthusiastically obliged in order to get it over with.

Later, she said he approached her from behind in a kitchen pantry and started groping her, sliding his hands from her hips to the sides of her breasts. While doing so, he was blocking her exit out of the small room.

Going public

Cooney said she never intended to tell her story. She told her mom during the height of #MeToo, a viral movement that started in 2017 and prompted millions of survivors of sexual harassment and assault to share their stories on social media.

But she didn’t consider going public. Kennedy announced his presidential campaign in April of 2023. She finally told some close friends a couple months later.

One friend encouraged her to document the incidents in order to protect herself, and in case she ever needed to defend the veracity of her story.

“I kind of always brushed this off a little bit,” she said. “Like, guys, this is just the price of doing business.”

As she continued to process what happened, she understood that her experience was inappropriate. Then came a television ad that mimicked a famous commercial for the presidential campaign of his uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr.'s.

The old-style ad had people singing, "Kennedy" repeatedly, and the line, "Kennedy for me." Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s image appeared in sepia-toned photos and photoshopped onto a button that resembled his uncle's campaign button.

“I literally was just watching the Super Bowl and saw the ad and thought, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’” Cooney said.

She opened up to Vanity Fair.

On a podcast this summer, Kennedy told the host, “I had a very, very rambunctious youth. I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world.”

Days after Vanity Fair story was published, Cooney says Kennedy sent her a text message, since reviewed by USA TODAY.

The text says: “I have no memory of this incident, but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings. I never intended you any harm. If I hurt you, it was inadvertent. I feel badly for doing so.”

Cooney doesn’t consider it an apology.

“I don’t know if it’s an apology if you say ‘I don’t remember,’” she said. “In the context of all his public appearances, it seemed a little bit — it didn’t match. It was like a throwaway.”

Cooney says this is about women

Cooney said she feels a sense of responsibility to share her story so people can make whatever decision they want to make about him. And she wants to give women courage to share their own experiences with other men.

Kennedy's nomination will likely sail through the confirmation process as he enjoys widespread support from Republicans. Kennedy’s nomination was even cheered by Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.

“I’m not doing this to try to stall his nomination or upend the confirmation,” Cooney said. “I’m just doing it for the public record.”

She criticized how society expects so many women to keep quiet about their experiences with sexual assault and harassment, how women have to be the ones to come forward, and how often nondisclosure agreements force women to stay silent in similar situations.

“When it comes to women and sex and bodies, then there’s NDAs?” Cooney said. “Imagine if those women had not signed NDAs, what would we all know by now.”

She said the #MeToo movement shined a light on the issue of sexual abuse of women, and in some cases held violators accountable. But she compared society’s broader confrontation with addressing the mistreatment of women to climbing a large mountain.

“We are not at the top of the mountain, and I can understand how people are weary and wary,” she said. “Because just look at what’s happening now. Is it worth it? Is anything going to change? Is it hopeless? I don’t think so.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-babysitter to RFK Jr.'s kids discusses sexual assault allegation