San Francisco supervisor candidate Manny Yekutiel, a key ally of Mayor Daniel Lurie and owner of the Mission political café Manny’s, faces a police investigation after a local political activist accused him of sexually assaulting him in 2020.

Brad Joseph Chapin, a former Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club board member and campaign volunteer, filed an SFPD report in April alleging that Yekutiel assaulted him during a Mission house gathering four years ago. The accusation, first reported by The San Francisco Standard, threatens to upend the District 8 supervisor race where Yekutiel is a front‑runner, and tests Lurie’s ability to maintain a moderate board majority. Yekutiel denies the allegation as “false” and politically motivated.

The allegation against Yekutiel was detailed in a police report filed by Brad Joseph Chapin, a clinical research coordinator turned city gardener who has volunteered on campaigns for Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Shamann Walton, and Dean Preston. Chapin told The Standard the assault occurred on February 21, 2020, at a small gathering in a Mission home.

According to the police report and Chapin’s interview, Yekutiel approached him in a bedroom, grabbed him by the testicles “like an animal,” and attempted to penetrate him with a finger. Chapin said he pushed back and demanded Yekutiel stop. In a text message to a friend dated the next day, obtained by The Standard, Chapin wrote, “Manny just sexually assaulted me.” Three friends told The Standard that Chapin recounted the incident to them at the time.

Chapin said he waited four years to report the incident because of shame, guilt, and fear of political repercussions. He came forward this spring, he said, because Yekutiel’s public persona as a progressive community leader felt inconsistent with what he alleges occurred. Chapin also filed an anonymous complaint with the San Francisco Democratic Party’s harassment hotline earlier this year; the party’s chair, Nancy Tung, said the process is insulated from leadership and the ombudsperson could not be reached for comment.

Yekutiel, in a statement to The Standard, flatly denied the account. “These allegations are false. What is being described did not happen,” he said. “When he reached out to me, I told him directly that it didn’t happen. He filed a police report, the police investigated, and took no further action. They said they didn’t even need to interview me.” Yekutiel added that Chapin’s “account changed more than once since.”

The San Francisco Police Department confirmed it has opened an investigation but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing probe. No criminal charges have been filed.

The accusation arrives at a critical moment for Yekutiel, who is running to represent District 8, which includes the Castro and Noe Valley. He has raised roughly $540,000 in donations and public financing, far outpacing his rivals, and is seen as the front‑runner to secure the seat currently held by termed‑out Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. Yekutiel is also a close ally of Mayor Daniel Lurie, having co‑founded the Civic Joy Fund with him in 2023. Lurie has so far declined to endorse in the District 8 race, a move now viewed by some observers as a hedge against the political fallout from the allegation.

Yekutiel argued that the timing of the public disclosure — months after the police report was filed but just as the supervisor race heats up — suggests a political motive. Chapin served as an officer at the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, which has endorsed Yekutiel’s chief opponent, Gary McCoy.

The case echoes a pattern in San Francisco politics where allegations of sexual misconduct surface during competitive elections, often leaving voters to weigh unproven claims against a candidate’s public record. For Yekutiel, whose profile has been built on his café as a hub for civil discourse and his ties to Democratic heavyweights from Barack Obama to Kamala Harris, the accusation strikes at the heart of that carefully curated image.

Whether the SFPD investigation yields charges or is closed without action, the cloud over Yekutiel’s campaign may already be altering the dynamics of a race that could determine the balance of power on the Board of Supervisors.