Roy Moore Accuser Says She Felt Guilty for Decades After He Allegedly Preyed Upon Her When She Was 1
Leigh Corfman, the first woman to come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, said in a new interview Monday that she feels a "weight's been lifted" after finally speaking out about how Moore allegedly preyed upon her when she was a teenager. Corfman told the Today show Monday that she lost trust in men and felt guilty for decades after Moore allegedly touched her at his home in 1979 when she was 14 years old and he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney. Moore, a Republican, denied the allegations during an interview with Sean Hannity after they first emerged. "It never happened," Moore said. "I don't know Miss Corfman from anybody. I never talked to or never had any contact with her. Allegations of sexual misconduct with her are completely false. I believe they're politically motivated.", He has vowed to stay in the race despite rising calls, including from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to drop out. Corfman said the encounter with Moore affected her relationships with men. "It took away a lot of the specialness out of interactions with men," she said. "It took some trust away.", Corfman added that she "didn't deserve to have a 32-year-old man prey upon" her. "It took years for me to regain a sense of confidence in myself, and I felt guilty. I felt like I was the one that was to blame," she said. Moore, she alleged, took her to his house, where he "proceeded to seduce her" and removed most of her clothes while she was on blankets he had laid out on his living room floor. He left the room and came back wearing only his "white underwear" and began touching her, Corfman alleged. "He touched me over my clothing, what was left of it, and he tried to get me to touch him as well," she said. , Corfman said she resisted and Moore took her home. Corfman said she had told friends and family members about what happened, but her story only went public this month when the Post sought her out. Since then, at least eight other women have come forward with similar allegations against Moore. Moore has denied all allegations against him. Corfman said coming forward was "courageous" and has brought her a sense of emotional relief  although it has cost her financially because she took a leave of absence from work. She said her decision to speak out publicly was not political but "personal.", "It's very close to my heart," she said. "I feel like a weight's been lifted."