The Washington Post didn’t name the accuser. But the paper said Fairfax and the woman met first met in Boston at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
“The woman described a sexual encounter that began with consensual kissing and ended with a forced act that left her crying and shaken,” The Washington Post reported. “She said Fairfax guided her to the bed, where they continued kissing, and then at one point she realized she could not move her neck. She said Fairfax used his strength to force her to perform oral sex.”
The statement from Fairfax said that before Big League Politics posted about it, “not one other reputable media outlet has seen fit to air this false claim. Only now, at a time of intense media attention surrounding Virginia politics, has this false claim been raised again.”
“The Lt. Governor will take appropriate legal action against those attempting to spread this defamatory and false allegation,” the statement read.
Speaking to reporters in Richmond Monday, Fairfax discussed his relationship with the accuser, saying he was 25 and unmarried when they met at the convention. He denied any wrongdoing, calling it a “consensual encounter.” Fairfax called it a “totally fabricated story” and questioned the timing.
“Such a shame this is weaponized and used as a smear because this is a very real issue,” Fairfax said.
The Big League Politics post that prompted Fairfax’s denial published a purported Facebook post from the woman that read, “Imagine you were sexually assaulted during the DNC Convention in Boston in 2004 by a campaign staffer. You spend the next 13 years trying to forget it ever happened. Until one day you find out he’s the Democratic candidate for statewide office in a state some 3000 miles away, and he wins that election in November 2017. Then, by strange, horrible luck, it seems increasingly likely that he’ll get a VERY BIG promotion.”
She did not name Fairfax, but the report implied she was referring to the lieutenant governor.