Mayor Murray accuser is ‘not playing anymore’; files $1M claim against Seattle
Feb 21, 2018, 8:23 AM | Updated: Feb 22, 2018, 8:39 am
Jeff Simpson. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Jeff Simpson, one of five men to publicly accuse former Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of rape, has filed a $1 million claim against the City of Seattle.
“I’m not playing anymore. I’m not,” Jeff Simpson told KIRO 7. “I deserve, and we deserve the truth.”
“I honestly believe he took my life,” he said. “He took a life from me that I will never have back”
The claim is likely the first step toward a lawsuit. Simpson’s attorney says the city “chose to bury a report of childhood sexual abuse,” instead of “seeking the truth,” according to KIRO 7. The claim further states: “The City of Seattle chose to publicly side with Mr. Murray and sat back and watched as Mr. Murray and his lawyer and his spokesperson defamed, disparaged, and slandered his accusers.”
RELATED: Why Seattle settled $150,000 Heckard claim
Murray argued that the sexual abuse allegations against him were part of a right-wing conspiracy to deter his good work as a gay politician. Simpson does not agree and says this is not about hate. When he spoke out in 2017, Simpson asked Murray to “stop victimizing us.”
KIRO 7’s Dave Wagner also notes that amid the 2017 allegations, Murray’s team sent the news station documents detailing Jeff Simpson’s criminal past.
Murray has maintained that the allegations against him are false. The city has not yet responded to the claim.
Murray allegations and Jeff Simpson
Simpson is one of five men who have publicly alleged Murray sexually abused them as minors.
In April 2017, Delvonn Heckard sued Ed Murray, kicking off a series of allegations. Murray’s own cousin eventually came forward with similar stories, leading to Murray’s resignation from office in September.
After dropping his first lawsuit, Heckard filed a new lawsuit in October against Murray and the city. The city settled the case for $150,000.
Heckard was found dead in an Auburn motel on Feb. 16. The official cause and manner of death are pending.
Simpson lived in a Portland orphanage from age 6 to 13. That’s when he met Murray, who was a volunteer. At age 13, he moved into a group home, but allegedly had regular contact with the grown man. One night, he says he went to Murray’s place for dinner and movies. It was here where Simpson alleges Murray first acted inappropriately, rubbing his legs and back. Simpson said that Murray asked him if he could keep a secret — that he wanted to perform a sexual act with him. Murray allegedly tried to take things further, but Simpson said he cried, which stopped the incident — that time.
Murray eventually applied to be Simpson’s foster parent while he was a troubled youth. Simpson did once try to report Murray to authorities. He was investigated by child protective services. No charges were brought forth, but it was documented and recommended that Murray not be allowed to be a foster parent in the future. Simpson estimated that Murray molested him more than 100 times when he was a minor.
“He raped me; raped me repeatedly,” Simpson told KIRO 7.
“Shame on you,” he said. “Shame on you, Ed. You knew better. I think that you need help and you need to stop these lies.”
KIRO 7 points out a few inconsistencies in Murray’s version of events. In 2013 campaign materials, Murray claimed he came out as a gay man in 1980. But in a 1982 application to be Simpson’s foster parent, Murray wrote that he was a heterosexual. Murray has also said that he has no assets that could be threatened by a lawsuit, and said his Capitol Hill house was in his husband Michael’s name. KIRO 7, however, checked with the King County Assessor’s Office and found that the house is actually in both their names.
