Politics

Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for US Senate in Alabama and twice-removed chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has been accused of having a sexual encounter with a teenage girl when he was 32 and she was 14. The Washington Post reports that Leigh Corfman says the then-assistant district attorney took her to his home, gave her alcohol, and had her touch him inappropriately. The Post further reports:

Aside from Corfman, three other women interviewed by The Washington Post in recent weeks say Moore pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s, episodes they say they found flattering at the time, but troubling as they got older. None of the women say that Moore forced them into any sort of relationship or sexual contact.

The Post says the Moore campaign has denied the allegations. AL.com has Moore's full statement on the accusations. Moore was twice removed from his position as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. The first removal happened in 2003 after he defied an order from the US Supreme Court to remove a granite sculpture of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Supreme Court building. The second happened in 2012, when Moore was removed from office for again refusing to follow a judicial order when he instructed probate judges in Alabama not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.