By BRIAN SLODYSKO, MARTHA MENDOZA and ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, a popular Fox News host who is Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Defense Department, was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after speaking at a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, according to a news release. released by the city. No charges have been filed in this case.

Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told The Associated Press that the allegations were “completely false.”

“Police investigated at the time and found no evidence,” Parlatore said.

Monterey city officials declined to release a police report documenting the accusations and instead released a brief statement Thursday evening in response to press inquiries.

According to the statement, Monterey police were contacted in October 2017 to investigate a sexual assault that allegedly occurred several days earlier at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey and involved Hegseth.

The person who reported the attack – whose name, age and gender have not been released – had bruises on his right thigh. No weapons were involved in the encounter, the person told police. The incident occurred between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the next morning, according to the city’s statement.

Hegseth was in town at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women at a banquet during the group’s biennial convention, according to social media posts and promotional materials from the time.

The alleged assault was said to have been first reported by Vanity Fair THURSDAY.

Monterey city officials said they were refusing to release other details included in the police report because they included analyzes and findings by law enforcement officers who are exempt from disclosure under the state’s public records law.