In a press conference Monday with women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, 56-year-old Beverly Young-Nelson became the fifth woman to accuse Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of inappropriate sexual conduct. Young-Nelson said that Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old.
Reading from a printed statement, Young-Nelson recounted how Moore was a frequent patron at the Alabama restaurant where she worked as a waitress, and said the then-district attorney offered to give her a ride home one night after work. Young-Nelson said that Moore then parked the car behind the restaurant and began to grope her, grabbing her neck as he tried to pull her head towards his groin.
Young-Nelson said that she fought back and that Moore eventually "gave up" and told her: "You're just a child and I am the district attorney of Etowah County. And if you tell anyone about this, no one will ever believe you." Young-Nelson said she quit her waitress job the next day and has not seen Moore since.
At the press conference, Young-Nelson also showed her high school yearbook, which in December 1977, she said Moore signed with a fawning note: "To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say 'Merry Christmas.' 1977 Love, Roy Moore D.A."
Allred said that her client wanted to testify under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee about Moore's alleged assault. Last week, The Washington Post published allegations by four women that Moore had initiated relationships with them when they were teenagers and he in his early 30s.