Sex allegations made vs. GOP Ala. Senate candidate
One woman says she was 14 at the time
WASHINGTON — A month before Alabama’s special election, Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore abruptly faced allegations yesterday of sexual misconduct with minors decades ago — and an immediate backlash from party leaders who demanded he quit the race if the accusations prove true.
The instant fallout followed a Washington Post report in which an Alabama woman said that Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, had sexual contact with her when she was 14. Three other women interviewed by the Post said Moore, now 70, also approached them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s.
The Moore campaign dismissed the report as “the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation.”
“Judge Roy Moore has endured the most outlandish attacks on any candidate in the modern political arena, but this story in today’s Washington Post alleging sexual impropriety takes the cake,” the campaign said, noting that Moore has been married to the same woman for 33 years and has four children and five grandchildren.
But senior Republicans swiftly called for Moore to step aside from the Senate race if the allegations are shown to be true.
“The allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore are deeply troubling,” said Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added, “If these allegations are true, he must step aside.”
The Post reported that Moore, then 32, first approached 14-yearold Leigh Corfman in early 1979 outside a courtroom in Etowah County, Ala. After phone calls and meetings, he drove her to his home some days later and kissed her, the Post quotes Corfman as saying. On a second visit, he took off her shirt and pants and removed his clothes except for his underwear before touching her over her bra and underpants, Corfman told the Post. He also guided her hand to touch him over his underwear, she said.
The state’s statute of limitations for bringing felony charges involving sexual abuse of a minor in 1979 would have run out three years later. Corfman never filed a police report or a civil suit, the Post said.
None of the other women said that Moore forced them into any sort of relationship or sexual contact.