“What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault,” said Fairfax’s accuser, Dr. Vanessa Tyson, a fellow at Stanford University and associate professor at Scripps College.
Tyson alleged that Fairfax, a Democrat, forced her to perform oral sex during the July 2004 encounter, which occurred during the Democratic National Convention in Boston, according to The Washington Post.
Left-Right: VA Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Dr. Vanessa Tyson
Later that day, Fairfax responded to Tyson’s statement denying the allegation and her description of the encounter.
“Reading Dr. Tyson’s account is painful. I have never done anything like what she suggests,” Fairfax said in a statement. “Any review of the circumstances would support my account, because it is the truth. I take this situation very seriously and continue to believe Dr. Tyson should be treated with respect. But, I cannot agree to a description of events that simply is not true.”
The allegation follows recent calls for Gov. Ralph Northam to resign over a photo of two individuals – one in Blackface and one in a Ku Klu Klan outfit – that appeared on his 1984 yearbook page, and he admitting that he darkened his face for a dance competition in the 1980s.
