Alabama Senate Candidate Roy Moore Fondled Girl, 14: Report

GADSDEN, AL - Four women claimed Thursday that U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore pursued them sexually and romantically when he was in his 30s and they were under the age of 18. One of the accusers said she was only 14 at the time she had a sexual encounter with Moore. That woman, Leigh Corfman, said that in 1979 she had several encounters with Moore and described them in detail, which she said involved a 32-year-old Moore kissing and touching her.

According to a report by The Washington Post, Corfman is one of four women who have similar stories of Moore making advances toward them when they were in their teens. In a written statement from Moore's campaign, 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.”

Senior Republicans have said Moore must step aside if any of these allegations are true.

“The allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore are deeply troubling,” said Colorado Sen. Chairman Cory Gardner, who leads the Senate GOP campaign arm. “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.”
A statement from Moore's campaign said, “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,” reads the statement, noting that Moore has been married to the same woman for 33 years and has four children and five grandchildren.

The statement continued, “After over 40 years of public service, if any of these allegations were true, they would have been made public long before now.”

Some Alabama politicians have already said they still support Moore, including Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler, who told the Washington Examiner, “The allegations are that a man in his early 30s dated teenage girls. Even the Washington Post report says that he never had sexual intercourse with any of the girls and never attempted sexual intercourse.”

Ziegler also claimed that there are biblical references that defend what Moore allegedly did.

“Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist,” Ziegler said, choosing his words carefully before invoking Christ. “Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”

“There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here,” Ziegler said. “Maybe just a little bit unusual.”

Moore is the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate election against Democrat Doug Jones on Dec. 12.

Read The Washington Post story here, and the Washington Examiner story here.

Image of Roy Moore and wife, Kayla, by David Bundy/Associated Press