The second woman who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault wrote an op-ed Monday in the Washington Post, in which she renewed her offer to testify publicly in front of the state legislature.
Last month, Meredith Watson alleged that Fairfax raped her while they were students at Duke in 2000, but he has denied the allegations. (RELATED: Second Woman Accuses Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Of Sexual Assault)
Watson wrote in her op-ed, “Despite the professed belief of numerous elected officials in Virginia and elsewhere that Vanessa Tyson, who says that Fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2004, and I have brought forward credible allegations, the Virginia General Assembly has not taken the simple and responsible step of arranging the thorough public hearing that we have sought.”
She continued:
I am frustrated by calls for an investigation rather than a public hearing into these matters. Such “investigations” are secret proceedings, out of the public eye, leaving victims vulnerable to selective leaks and smears. And we all know how such investigations end: with “inconclusive results.” My privacy has already been violated, yet I am still willing to testify publicly under oath. Tyson has made the same offer. Our plea to the Virginia General Assembly to require the same of Fairfax has been met with inaction.
In a more detailed statement, Watson alleged that she told Fairfax and other friends about getting raped by a player on Duke’s basketball team. According to her story, Fairfax then raped her. Later on, Watson says she confronted him about the assault and asked why he did it. He allegedly answered, “I knew that because of what happened to you last year, you’d be too afraid to say anything.’”
Fairfax was also accused of sexually assaulting a woman days before Watson came forward. Dr. Vanessa Tyson accused Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex on him in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. (RELATED: Several 2020 Dems Are Calling For Lt. Gov. Fairfax To Resign)
Despite both allegations, Fairfax remains in his position.