A second woman has come forward to accuse Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, an allegation that, as with the first, the Democrat is vigorously denying.
Meredith Watson, in a statement issued by her attorney, is “reluctantly coming forward out of a strong sense of civic duty and her belief that those seeking or serving in public office should be of the highest character.”
The statement described the alleged attack by Fairfax, in 2000, while both Fairfax and Watson were students at Duke, as “premeditated and aggressive,” and that the details of the attack on Watson were “similar to those described by Dr. Vanessa Tyson.”
Tyson, earlier this week, had come forward with an allegation against Fairfax dating to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, in which she said Fairfax had attacked her in a hotel room, forcing her to perform oral sex.
Fairfax, in a statement, called the allegation “demonstrably false.”
“I demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegations,” said Fairfax, who was elected to the lieutenant governor post in 2017. “Such an investigation will confirm my account because I am telling the truth.”
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is now testing the waters for a possible presidential run in 2020, is leading the calls for Fairfax to step down.
“The allegations against Justin Fairfax are serious and credible,” McAuliffe wrote in the tweet. “It is to clear to me that he can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia as Lieutenant Governor. I call for his immediate resignation.”
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Chris Graham
