Republican Sen. Todd Young (Ind.) on Monday called on his colleagues to “protect the integrity” of the upper chamber if GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore does not step aside after multiple allegations that he had sexual encounters with underage women while in his 30s.
The Hoosier lawmaker said in a two-part tweet that Moore’s denials are less convincing than the allegations of five women who say he made sexual advances towards them when they were minors.
Young’s tweets come on the same day that a fifth woman, Beverly Young Nelson, came forward and publicly accused Moore of sexual misconduct during a press conference with lawyer Gloria Allred.
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Nelson said Moore, the GOP nominee in Alabama’s special election, sexually assaulted her in a diner parking lot in 1977, when she was a 16-year-old high school student and he was serving as the Etowah County district attorney.
Nelson’s allegations came just days after four other women told The Washington Post that Moore had pursued relationships with them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18.
The bombshell report detailed the account of Leigh Corfman, now 53, who described how Moore made unwanted sexual advances with her in 1979, when she was 14 years old and he was 32.
Moore has strongly and repeatedly denied accusations that he had any improper sexual encounters with any underage women.
Moore, however, received further blowback from Republicans after his remarks on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Friday, where he said he may have dated girls in their late teens when he was in his 30s, but not ever without their mother’s permission.
Young’s tweet echoed the call Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made earlier Monday, saying Moore should “step aside” in the Senate race to replace the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a call that has been backed by other top GOP senators, including Orrin Hatch (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.).