After accuser reveals his name, Seattle mayor maintains he doesn’t know him
Apr 19, 2017, 12:30 PM | Updated: 12:31 pm
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray maintained that he doesn’t know the man accusing him of sexual abuse, after the accuser revealed his name.
Murray has said he has no idea who his accuser is and maintains that the man’s name, Delvonn Heckard, “is not familiar” to him.
Murray provided the following statement Wednesday:
“I can state categorically that I have never had a sexual relationship with this individual, Delvonn Heckard, of any kind or at any time.”
“I have never paid for sex, and I have never had sex with a minor. Heckard’s claims about my anatomy were proved medically false last week. His accusations are not true.”
“I just learned Heckard’s name this morning, and can say that his name is not familiar to me.”
“Is it possible I met this person before? Sure, it is possible. I have encountered thousands of people during my decades of public service. I cannot say for certain that I never encountered this person at some point thirty years ago, a time when I was very publicly and civically active. But Delvonn Heckard is not someone I knew.”
“Again, to be clear, I never had sex with Delvonn Heckard or any other minor at any time.”
RELATED: Mayor Murray acknowledges connection to accuser
The alleged victim is a 46-year-old Kent man who had previously been identified by the initials D.H. Heckard decided to reveal his name in an amended complaint filed Tuesday. Heckard’s attorney told KIRO 7 that the accuser was inspired to go public after two other alleged victims came forward.
Heckard is described as an openly gay man with no real political inclinations, which contrasts with the mayor’s claims that the allegations are a part of a right-wing conspiracy because the mayor pushed the LGBTQ civil rights bill.
The Seattle Times reported that a letter from Heckard’s lawyer, Lincoln Beauregard, to Murray’s attorney states that the decision to go public was so that Murray could no longer claim that he doesn’t know who “D.H.” is.
“We have been sitting back mystified that Mayor Murray opted to hold press conferences, sit for television interviews and have his genitals examined while denying any knowledge as to our client without bothering to inquire his identity,” Beauregard’s letter states, according to The Times.
Heckard told the Times Wednesday that he’s at peace with the reveal.
“It’s not a big secret,” he said. “I have nothing to hide, and I didn’t do anything wrong anyway.”
