A 46-year-old Kent man has filed a lawsuit accusing Seattle Mayor Ed
Murray of having “raped and molested” him when the man was a 15-year-old
high school dropout and Murray was in his early 30s, The Seattle Times reported Thursday.
A spokesman said the mayor vehemently denied the
allegations, describing them as a “shakedown effort” as the filing
deadline for this fall’s mayoral election approaches.
The suit filed in King County Superior Court alleges
Murray sexually abused the teen on a number of occasions, beginning in
1986, for payments of $10 and $20.
Murray’s personal spokesman Jeff Reading said in a statement to Q13 News:
“These false accusations are intended to damage a
prominent elected official who has been a defender of vulnerable
populations for decades.
It is not a coincidence that this shakedown
effort comes within weeks of the campaign filing deadline. These
unsubstantiated assertions, dating back three decades, are categorically
false.
Mayor Murray has never engaged in an inappropriate relationship
with any minor ... Mayor Murray will vigorously fight these allegations
in court."
The man, who is identified only as "D.H." in the
suit, told the Times he was a crack-cocaine addicted teen when Murray
allegedly abused him in Murray's Capitol Hill apartment. He said they
had met on a bus.
He alleged in his interview with the Times that Murray continued to pay him for the next four to five years, at least 50 times.
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