TEHRAN, January 5 - An Alabama woman who accused former US Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexually abusing her when she was 14 years old has sued Moore and his campaign for what she said was defamation.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Leigh Corfman’s lawsuit, filed in Alabama’s Montgomery County Circuit Court on Thursday, cited negative attacks by Moore and his supporters after she made her accusations. The lawsuit, seen by Reuters, seeks a judgment of defamation, a public apology, and legal costs.
“By this lawsuit, I seek to do what I could not do as a 14-year-old — hold Mr. Moore and those who enable him accountable,” Corfman said in a statement that was emailed by her attorneys.
Moore, Alabama’s former chief judge, has denied the allegations, calling them “completely false and a desperate political attack.”
Representatives of his campaign could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Moore, a Republican known for staunchly conservative views, was defeated in Alabama’s special election for the US Senate last month. Doug Jones became the first Democrat sent to the Senate from Republican stronghold Alabama in a quarter century.
Moore was a controversial candidate whose campaign was beset by allegations that he sexually assaulted or pursued teenage girls while he was in his 30s. He denied the misconduct allegations, saying they were a result of “dirty politics.”
Reuters was unable to independently confirm any of the allegations.
Corfman’s allegations came more than a month before the special election for the US Senate seat on December 12.
In a Washington Post article on November 9, Corfman and three other women accused Moore of pursuing them when they were in their teens and he was in his 30s. Corfman alleged that she met Moore as a young teen in 1979 and that he sexually touched her.
In the lawsuit, Corfman accused Moore and his campaign of repeatedly calling her a liar at rallies and in the media, and questioning her motivation for publicly disclosing her allegations.
(Source: Reuters)
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