Seattle Mayor Ed Murray will resign from his office, effective as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday. His abdication stems from a long-running history of sexual assault accusations that have plagued the 62-year-old Democratic politician.
Videos by Rare
On Tuesday, one of Murray’s younger cousins became the latest to accuse the leader of sexual abuse, during an interview with the Seattle Times. Joseph Dyer, 54, says he was 13 years old when his older cousin forced him into sex for a year. The two shared a bedroom and Dyer claims “There would be times when I would fake sleeping because I didn’t want him touching me.”
RELATED: Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is officially out amid sex abuse allegations
Murray, who is the liberal city’s first openly gay mayor, denounced the accusations; but after the Seattle Times published their piece, Murray announced his resignation. In a statement, he wrote, “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public’s business.”
Dyer is the fifth man to level accusations against Murray. The others are as follows:
- Jeff Simpson, 49, claims he was 13 when Murray abused him. Simpson came forth in 1984.
- Lloyd Anderson, 52, claims that Murray paid him for sex when he was teen.
- Delvonn Heckard, 46, claims that Murray “raped and molested” him in the ’80s. Heckard came forth in April.
- Maurice Lavon Jones, 44, claims that Murray paid him for sex while he was a crack-addicted teen prostitute.