SEATTLE (CN) – Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has been accused of sexually abusing a homeless 15-year-old boy whom he paid for sex on numerous occasions starting in 1986, according to a complaint filed Thursday in King County Court.
The lawsuit, filed by “D.H.” says Murray met the homeless high school dropout on a King County bus, propositioned him and knew the boy’s age before they had sex at Murray’s apartment.
Murray was 32 at the time. D.H. is now 46.
D.H. says Murray paid him $10 to $20 per sex act.
The graphic complaint says Murray enjoyed rough sex, and at times “the sex turned aggressive, beyond a point to which D.H. was comfortable and/or felt that to which he had agreed.”
D.H. also described Murray’s genitals and says Murray asked him not to bathe before sex because “he enjoyed sex more if D.H. was dirty.”
The sexual interactions continued “for an extended period of time,” and D. H. says in the complaint that Murray was also having sex with other teenagers.
“On at least one occasion, D.H. was at Mr. Murray’s home when another apparently underage boy was at the apartment. D.H. was of the understanding that Mr. Murray was having sex with the other boy for money at the same time,” the complaint says.
D.H. says he filed the lawsuit because his father recently died and he received mental health counseling that made him reflect on the abuse.
“These moments of reflection, and awareness that Mr. Murray maintains a position of authority, prompted the filing of this lawsuit in an attempt at accountability, and to hopefully give courage for other potential victims to speak out,” D.H. says in the complaint.
He is asking for general and special damages and is represented by Lincoln Beauregard of Connelly Law Offices and Lawand Anderson of LA Law & Associates.
Murray, 61, is Seattle’s first openly gay mayor, and was a state senator prior to his 2013 election.
“These false accusations are intended to damage a prominent elected official who has been a defender of vulnerable populations for decades,” Murray spokesman Jeff Reading said in a statement. “It is not a coincidence that this shakedown effort comes within weeks of the campaign filing deadline. These unsubstantiated assertions, dating back three decades, are categorically false. Mayor Murray has never engaged in an inappropriate relationship with any minor.”
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