Woman says Roy Moore attacked her in a car when she was 16

An Alabama woman said Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore, then 30, groped and assaulted her in an attempt to have sex with her when she was 16. 

Beverly Nelson said at a news conference Monday afternoon that Moore, then a Gadsden assistant district attorney, was a regular patron of the Old Hickory House, a Gadsden diner where she worked in 1977. Nelson said Moore offered her a ride home one evening. 

"He stopped his car," Nelson said before reporters in New York. "He parked his car in-between the dumpster and the back of restaurant where there was no light. The area was dark and it was deserted. I was alarmed, and I immediately asked him what he was doing."

Nelson said Moore began grabbing her breasts, then locked the car door when she tried to get out. Nelson said Moore then squeezed her neck and "attempted to force my head into his crotch."

"I thought he was going to rape me," said Nelson, sitting next to attorney Gloria Allred at the news conference. "I was twisting and I was struggling and I was begging him to stop. At some point he gave up. And he looked at me and told me 'You’re just a child, and I am the district attorney. If you tell anyone about this, no one will ever believe you.'"

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Nelson became the fifth woman in less than a week to accuse Moore of inappropriate contact with teenagers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Four women told the Washington Post in a story published Thursday that he pursued relationships with them as teens. One, Leigh Corfman, said she was 14 when Moore in 1979 took her to his home, removed their clothes and guided her hand over his crotch. The age of consent in Alabama, then and now, is 16.

Moore has called the charges false and questioned the motivations of the accusers and the Washington Post. In a statement before the press conference, Moore campaign chairman Bill Armistead accused Allred of leading a "witch hunt."

"We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: Judge Moore is an innocent man and has never had any sexual misconduct with anyone," the statement said. 

The women have all stood by the Post's stories. Allred and Nelson brought a yearbook to the press conference that had been signed by Moore a before the alleged attack took place.

"To a sweeter, more beautiful girl I could not say, 'Merry Christmas 1977,' the signature said. "Love, Roy Moore D.A. 12-22-1977 Old Hickory House." 

Allred — who said Nelson approached her — said her client would be willing to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about the incident with Moore. 

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Nelson also said she would have taken the story "to her grave" without the other women coming forward. "I want Mr. Moore to know he has no longer has any power over me,  and I no longer live in fear of him," she said. Allred said Nelson told her mother and husband John — who was in attendance at the press conference — about the attack years before.

Paula Cobia, an attorney for Gloria Deason, who said Moore bought her wine when she was an 18-year-old, said before the Nelson press conference that her client would also testify before a Senate committee if Moore did the same. 

"Just name the time and place," she wrote on Facebook. "Because the truth doesn’t hide." 

Moore has questioned why the women took years to come forward. Both Cobia and Allred said as teenagers the accusers were not aware of their rights. 

"Any person who is an adult survivor of child sexual abuse would wait a long time to tell anyone," Allred said.  

The allegations have led several national Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to distance themselves from Moore. The National Republican Senate Committee ended a fundraising agreement with Moore. The chairman of the NRSC, Sen. Corey Gardner, R-Colo., said Moore should not be seated if he wins. 

"If he refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should expel him," Gardner said in a statement.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told reporters Monday that Moore should "seriously think about dropping out" and said he watched Nelson's press conference. 

“The woman looked believable, the stories looked believable,” he said.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have floated the possibility of current U.S. Sen. Luther Strange running as a write-in candidate. Businessman Mac Watson has already presented himself as a possibility. 

But Alabama Republican Party chairwoman Terry Lathan told Alabama Political Reporter Sunday that any Republican supporting a write-in candidate would be making a "serious error," citing bylaws that allow the party to deny ballot access to those who support another party's candidates. 

Moore is facing Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones in the Dec. 12 general election. Jones expressed support for the women in a statement Monday.

"We applaud the courage of these women," the statement said. "Roy Moore will be held accountable by the people of Alabama for his actions." 

Some state Republican county chairs have circled the wagons around Moore, though the response of others has been muted or nonexistent. Gov. Kay Ivey said Monday morning she still planned to vote for Moore, but House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, have not responded to questions seeking comment. 

Kayla Moore, Moore's wife, posted a letter to Facebook over the weekend that cited the support of more than 50 pastors for Moore. The letter appeared to be an edited version of a letter the campaign sent out before the Aug. 15 primary. It was not immediately clear Monday how the pastors feel about the accusations, though Tijuanna Adetunji of the Fresh Anointing House of Worship in Montgomery told al.com she was "was not asked about this story or allegations."

Staff writer Melissa Brown and USA Today's Eliza Collins contributed to this report.