The latest accusation against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax triggers calls for his resignation.
A second woman accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault Friday, saying the Democrat raped her 19 years ago while they were both students at Duke University.
Calls for his resignation grew steadily as the day wore on.
A lawyer for Meredith Watson, 39, said in a statement that Fairfax had attacked Watson in 2000. The statement described the assault as « premeditated and aggressive, » and noted that while Watson and Fairfax had been social friends, they were never involved romantically.
The lawyer, Nancy E. Smith, said her team had statements from former classmates who said Watson had « immediately » told friends that Fairfax had raped her. A New Jersey public relations firm representing Watson provided The Associated Press with a 2016 email exchange with a female friend and 2017 text exchanges in which Watson said Fairfax had raped her. She also expressed dismay about his run for political office.
Watson’s representatives declined to provide further documentation and said their client would not be talking to journalists.
Fairfax shot back at his accusers quickly: he said in a statement that he would not resign from office, and vowed to clear his name against what he described as a « vicious and coordinated smear campaign » being orchestrated against him.
« I deny this latest unsubstantiated allegation, » the embattled Democrat said. « It is demonstrably false. I have never forced myself on anyone ever. I demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegations. Such an investigation will confirm my account because I am telling the truth. »
Duke spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said the university’s police department has no criminal reports naming or involving Fairfax. Any accusation made through the student disciplinary process would be protected by student privacy laws, and Schoenfeld said the university couldn’t comment or release further information.
Police officials in Durham, North Carolina, where Duke is, said they had no records of an accusation against Fairfax in 2000.
This is not the first time Watson has accused someone of assault. Following inquiries from AP and other media, Watson’s lawyer confirmed that while in college she accused another man, a basketball player at Duke, of raping her when she was a sophomore.
