New Accuser In Ed Murray Sex Abuse Lawsuit Emerges: Report

SEATTLE, WA - A new accuser has emerged in the sex abuse lawsuit against Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. The latest accusation comes from a 44-year-old man who says Murray paid him for sex in the 1980s. Through a spokesman, Murray denied ever knowing the new accuser.

According to the Seattle Times, the new accuser is Maurice L. Jones, who is incarcerated at the King County Jail in Kent. Murray is being sued by Delvonn Heckard, 46, who claims Murray paid him for sex in the 1980s when he was under the age of consent. In a sworn statement, Jones says Heckard introduced him to Murray, who then paid Jones for sex.

"At the time I had been to Mr. Murray's apartment in Capitol Hill too. Mr. Murray gave me money for sex," Jones' statement says. The statement also says Murray was known for visiting child prostitutes.

Murray's spokesman, Jeff Reading, told the Times, "Mayor Murray does not know this person. This is an ambush copycat false accusation that is being made without any details, evidence, timeline or anything at all to substantiate its veracity. Mayor Murray has never had inappropriate relations with any minor, and Mayor Murray has never paid for sex."

Jones is the fourth man to accuse Murray of underage sex. Two other men - Jeff Simpson, of Portland, and Lloyd Anderson, who lives in Florida - have accused Murray of sex abuse in 1980s. The incidents allegedly took place in the Portland area.

Jones is being held on $15,000 bail at the Kent jail on drug and failure-to-appear charges, according to King County records. Heckard's attorney in the lawsuit, Lincoln Beauregard, sent the Times a photo of him with Jones in the Kent jail.

In the main lawsuit against Murray, Heckard, who lives in Kent, says that the mayor paid Heckard for sex in 1986 when Heckard was 15; the suit also alleges that Murray raped Heckard. Murray has denied all of the allegations, and has released medical records to refute charges made by Heckard. In the suit, Heckard has described specific parts of Murray's body, including a mole on his scrotum. Last week, through his lawyer, Murray publicly revealed the results of a physical exam that refuted Heckard's description of the mayor's alleged mole.

Patch.com file photo