LOCAL NEWS
Attorney: Heart of complaint against Seattle mayor is false
The attorney representing Seattle Mayor Ed Murray in a sex-abuse lawsuit says a physical examination debunks the claims filed against him.
RELATED: Seattle City Council to remain quiet on sex-abuse allegations
In the complaint for damages, a man identified as D.H., who claims he was sexually abused by Murray in his former Capitol Hill apartment, made specific remarks regarding the mayor’s body and a mole on his genitalia.
With documents in hand on Tuesday evening, Murray’s private attorney Bob Sulkin said the description of Murray’s physical appearance — which is at the “heart of the allegations” — is false. An examination found no mole or evidence of removal.
Sulkin added that a 2015 examination was “found no abnormalities in that area.”
“This is game-changing,” he said, adding that this proves the case has no credibility, “and should be dropped.”
LISTEN: Mayor’s attorney provides evidence against rape allegations
D.H. alleges the mayor molested and raped him as a teenager in the 1980s.
D.H. was a troubled youth who was homeless, using drugs, and whose parents were also addicted to drugs. According to The Seattle Times, the man — then a teen — was addicted to crack-cocaine. Court documents state that the teen met Murray on the bus and the two “developed a friendly interaction.” Murray was 32 years old at the time.
In the lawsuit, D.H. describes the inside of Murray’s former Capitol apartment, gives his old phone number, and describes the mayor’s genitalia. The Seattle Times reports two other men have accused Murray of sexual abuse in the past decade.
Sulkin argued that knowing someone’s old phone number or what the inside of an apartment from 30 years ago looked like is not enough to accuse someone of illicit sex. He said the fingerprint in the case was the description of the mayor’s genitalia “and it’s false.”
The mayor’s attorney went on to say that there is no credibility to the original Seattle Times story reporting the lawsuit against the mayor.
“In my view, The Seattle Times rushed to publish this story without giving us a chance to debunk it was extraordinarily unfair to the mayor,” Sulkin said. “He’s in the midst of a mayoral campaign and trying to put the feathers back in that pillow is going to be very difficult.”
Listen to the mayor’s statement
Mayor Murray says he will not step down and will continue his mayoral campaign. DH.’s attorney, Lincoln Beauregard, sent a letter to Sulkin to request a deposition in May. Beauregard is offering his client for deposition as soon as this week.
