Moore accuser files defamation lawsuit against him, campaign

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A woman who says failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore molested her when she was 14 filed a defamation lawsuit against Moore and his campaign Thursday.

Leigh Corfman said Moore and his campaign defamed her and made false statements as they denied the accusations in the midst of the U.S. Senate race in Alabama. The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery Circuit Court, asks Moore to publicly apologize.

“Mr. Moore sexually abused me when I was only 14 years old. Then he and his campaign called me a liar and immoral when I publicly disclosed his misconduct,” Corfman said in a statement. “By this lawsuit, I seek to do what I could not do as a 14-year-old — hold Mr. Moore and those who enable him accountable.”

Corfman said she was a teen when Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, touched her sexually during an encounter. Moore has denied the allegations.

Corfman was one of several women who said Moore pursued them when they were teens.

Corfman and her mother have said that Moore first approached her as she waited outside a custody hearing at the Etowah County courthouse. Corfman said she later arranged to meet Moore and that he took her to his home and initiated the encounter. Corfman said he took off her shirt and pants and removed his clothes except for his underwear before touching her over her bra and underpants.

Efforts to immediately reach Moore for comment were unsuccessful, and a text message to Kayla Moore, Moore’s wife, was not immediately returned.

His campaign issued a statement saying, “We look forward to transparently discussing these matters in a court of law.”

Moore’s campaign was roiled by the accusations as he sought the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.