Fourth man accuses Seattle mayor of sex abuse years ago
SEATTLE — A man jailed on drug charges has accused Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of paying him for sex when the man was a teenager decades ago, claims that were vehemently denied Wednesday by a spokesman for the mayor. He is the fourth man over the past month to accuse the mayor of sex abuse.
The man said in a sworn declaration late Tuesday that he was introduced to Murray by Delvonn Heckard, who filed a lawsuit last month claiming he was sexually abused by Murray in the 1980s when Heckard was a teenager.
The man made the declaration from jail, where he is being held on drug charges.
Court records show he was initially charged with cocaine possession and released from jail but re-booked in March and jailed again. He has also had 116 warrants issued for his arrest since 1991, the records said.
Jeff Reading, the Murray spokesman, labelled the fresh claim an “ambush-copycat false accusation.”
Murray has also denied the claims by Heckard and two other men who separately told the Seattle Times they met Murray while living in a centre for troubled teens and that he paid them for sex.
The man making the latest allegations is not suing Murray. His statement about the mayor was filed by Heckard’s lawyer, Lincoln Beauregard, as additional material accompanying Heckard’s lawsuit.
The man’s history of alleged criminal offences also include theft, assault, false reporting and resisting arrest. The man said he had been to Murray’s apartment in Seattle and that Murray had paid him for sex, but did not provide specifics.
Asked why the man should be considered credible, Beauregard responded: “I found him persuasive.”
The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of sex abuse. Murray’s three previous accusers said they wanted their names made public. Beauregard said he did not know whether the man making the new accusation wanted his identity made public.
The new court documents were filed after Murray’s lawyer asked a judge to sanction Beauregard for unethical legal behaviour, accusing him of trying to generate negative publicity against Murray.
Reading said Beauregard’s latest court filing was designed as a media stunt and reiterated: “Mayor Murray has never had inappropriate relations with any minor.”
Murray, a Democrat, is in his first term and seeking re-election after a lengthy career as a state lawmaker.
He was the prime sponsor of Washington’s gay-marriage law, spearheaded an effort to protect LGBTQ youth in public schools and led the state’s push to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Murray has claimed that the abuse claims are motivated by an anti-gay conspiracy aimed at derailing his political career.
The man making the new claim stated in his court declaration: “I am not part of any right-wing conspiracy. I am also gay.”