Hours after a woman accused Roy Moore of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 years old, the Republican Alabama Senate nominee told reporters Monday night he has never met her and this is a "political maneuver."
"I can tell you without hesitation this is absolutely false," Moore said. "I never did what she said I did. I don't even know the woman. I don't know anything about her." In a press conference Monday afternoon, Beverly Young Nelson said that when she was a 16-year-old waitress at Olde Hickory House in Gadsen, Alabama, Moore, then a district attorney, dined there frequently, and one night he offered to give her a ride home when her shift was over. Nelson said that instead of driving to her house, Moore parked the car and groped her, then threatened her after she fought back. Nelson is the fifth woman to come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct or harassment against Moore.
Moore said he does not know where the Olde Hickory House "is or was," and said the accusers only came forward because he is ahead in the polls. During her press conference, Nelson showed one of her high school yearbooks, which included an inscription from Moore: "To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say 'Merry Christmas.' Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, D.A. ... Olde Hickory House." Moore did not comment on the yearbook message.
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