Report: Former student says she had sex with Rep. Manweller at age 17
Sep 21, 2018, 2:13 PM | Updated: 4:23 pm
Washington State Representative Matt Manweller. (Washington House Republicans)
(Washington House Republicans)
A former high school student of Rep. Matt Manweller says they had a sexual relationship in the 1990s when she was 17 years old, according to The Seattle Times. Manweller denies the allegation.
The woman, who spoke with the NW News Network, said she met Manweller at Wood River High School in Hailey, Idaho where she was a student. She took his classes and then developed a romantic relationship after she graduated in 1997.
According to the Times, the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, showed the NW News Network a journal entry recalling a meeting, Manweller called her “sweetie and cutie, which is weird,” and he told her he was going through withdrawals over not seeing her.
She said the two went on a hike soon after and went to his house afterwards where they had sex. Manweller has disputed the claim. KIRO Radio has reached out for comment.
The Times reports the woman disclosed the relationship to a friend in 1997. The woman said she and Manweller worked to keep the relationship hidden from her parents and others.
This isn’t the first allegation against Manweller, who is running for re-election in November. Central Washington University recently fired him as a political science professor. The university released a 85-page report detailing sexual misconduct allegations.
Manweller refutes the allegations and told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that he believes that the university wanted him gone on whatever charge they could find because his conservative political beliefs did not sit well in a liberal academic world.
