Summary: At least four women have come forward claiming Roy Moore, the Alabama Senate candidate, sought out romantic relationships with them years ago when they were minors.
Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is finding himself under a pile of allegations, in which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is calling for him to “step aside” if they are true. The women claim their relations with Moore occurred when they were in their teens and he was in his thirties.
One allegation is more serious than the others because it involves a 14-year-old girl and more than just kissing. The woman, Leigh Corfman, claims she first met Moore when she was with her mother outside the courtroom in Etowah County, Alabama. Corfman was 14 at the time while Moore was 32, serving as the assistant district attorney.
Moore allegedly struck up a conversation with Corfman and her mom, offering to sit outside with Corfman so the young girl would not need to go into the courtroom for the child custody hearing. Her mom, Nancy Wells, said, “He said, ‘Oh, you don’t want her to go in there and hear all that. I’ll stay out here with her.’ I thought, how nice for him to want to take care of my little girl.”
Corfman claims Moore ended up bringing her to his house days later, telling her how pretty she was and kissing her. During another visit, he took her clothes off and removed his clothes, touching her over her bra and underwear and directing her hand to touch him over his underwear.
The Washington Post confirmed through court records that her mother had a hearing related to her divorce at the courthouse on the day Corfman claimed she first met Moore. The Washington Post also interviewed three other women with similar stories, except none of the others state they were forced into a sexual relationship. The other women were between the ages of 16 and 18 when Moore would take them on dates, where nothing progressed farther than kissing.
Corfman told friends at the time that she was seeing an older man. She did not tell her mother what was happening until a decade later when Moore was a local judge.
McConnell said, “If these allegations are true, Roy Moore should step aside for all the obvious reasons.” McConnell did support Moore’s opponent in the Republican primary. A number of other Republicans that were not excited about supporting the already controversial Moore have further distanced themselves from him.
Moore denies the allegations, pointing fingers at the Democratic Party. He said, “These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and the Washington Post on this campaign.” Moore is now 70. He argues that if the allegations had any fact behind them, they would have surfaced during previous campaigns.
The Washington Post claims the women have no connection to the Democratic Party, his Democratic opponent Doug Jones, or even his fellow rivals within the Republican Party. Corfman says she thought about coming forward multiple times but knew her past would undermine her credibility, including financial problems and three divorces.
The timing of these allegations could not be at a worse time for the GOP. There are only four weeks left in the race for U.S. Senate. Alabama law does not allow the removal of a name from the ballot so close to the election. If Moore withdraws, state law dictates that no votes could be certified for him. The party can only hope that Senator Luther Strange, who Moore beat in the September 26 run-off vote, changes his position to be a write-in.
Moore has not always been a favorite in Alabama, having been removed from his position as chief justice of the state Supreme Court twice. He was removed in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandment monument at the Alabama judicial building and again in 2016 after telling state judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the legalization of gay marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Do you think the timing of the allegations is political? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about politicians and state officials accused of sexual misconduct, read these articles:
- Clinton, Dershowitz Flew on Sex Jet with Jeffrey Epstein
- Multiple Women Accuse Political Journalist Mark Halperin of Sexual Harassment
- 19 Hollywood Power Players Recently Accused of Sexual Harassment or Abuse
Photo: businessinsider.com