Multiple women have accused Mark Halperin, a veteran journalist who co-wrote the book Game Change about the 2008 presidential election, of sexually harassing them while he worked at ABC News, according to a CNN report.

Five women told CNNs Oliver Darcy that Halperin propositioned employees while he was in a powerful position at ABC. Three women accused Halperin of pressing his genitals against them while clothed, and one said he grabbed her breasts against her will. He has denied those allegations to CNN.

An additional two women accused Halperin of sexual misconduct as news of the allegations spread. Reporter Emily Miller said on Twitter late Wednesday that she too was assaulted while working as a junior employee at ABC, but did not elaborate on her story. Another journalist, who spoke to The Daily Beast anonymously to speak candidly, said that Halperin made unwanted advances towards her more than a decade ago that were just shameless. Both women told the Beast their accounts were separate to those reported by CNN.

One woman came forward publicly with her allegations of sexual misconduct in The Washington Post.

Dianna Goldberg told the newspaper she worked as a researcher at ABC News in 1994 when Halperin asked her to sit on his lap while they were in his office. Goldberg, who now goes by her married name, May, said she reluctantly complied, fearing repercussions to her career if she ignored Halperins request. She said he made similar requests on several subsequent occasions.

Halperin told CNN in a statement Wednesday night: During this period, I did pursue relationships with women that I worked with, including some junior to me. I now understand from these accounts that my behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain. For that, I am deeply sorry and I apologize.

Under the circumstances, Im going to take a step back from my day-to-day work while I properly deal with this situation.

Halperin, 52, has held several senior positions at many prestigious news outlets, most recently as senior political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC . He stepped down from his role at NBC pending investigation of the incidents, the network said in a statement .