MILTON, N.Y. — Despite being accused by a former employee of "profound, horrific and damaging sexual harassment" that caused extreme stress, weight gain and health problems, Dan Lewza sees himself as a true victim.

"I am the one who was actually being harassed," Lewza said Thursday, two days after being named in a lawsuit.

Named alongside the town of Milton, where he was supervisor for three terms until last month, Lewza has been accused by his former secretary, Theresa Wilson. Shortly after taking the job in 2012, Wilson says Lewza sent her a text message in which he offered to expose himself.

"What happened was that was completely taken out of context," Lewza said from his kitchen table.

Interviewed at his home Thursday, Lewza acknowledges sending the text, but says it was merely a joke.

"I take responsibility for that. I probably should not have done that, but it is a two-way street,” he said. “I also received quite a few text messages from [Wilson] that I probably should not have."

While he declined to do an on-camera interview on Thursday, Wilson‘s attorney, Mark McCarthy, counters Lewza’s claim that his client was also sending inappropriate messages, adding nothing Wilson said would make Lewza’s alleged statement “make sense.”

Filed along with the lawsuit was a copy of an October 2016 settlement reached between Wilson, the town and Lewza. After coming forward with the allegations earlier that spring, Wilson claims she was promised $10,000 and a new job at Saratoga County, but she says Lewza never made good on that promise. Remaining unemployed ever since, she’s now seeking financial compensation through the lawsuit.

"She was never promised any position,” said Lewza, who said his decision to not run for reelection this past fall had nothing to do with the allegations against him. “I am not a job source, I can’t just say ‘yes, you are automatically going to get a position.’ I said I would try. I did.”

Beginning with the text, the lawsuit goes on to detail four more years of alleged harassment.

In addition to reprimanding her when she spoke to other men, Wilson claims Lewza repeatedly drove by her home and showed up uninvited.

He believes he'll be proven innocent.

"I look forward to the day that I can move on from this," Lewza said.

James Craig, the attorney representing the town of Milton, did not immediately return a request for comment.