New accuser claims sexual assault by Moore in 1970s

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new accuser said Monday that as a teenager in the 1970s she was sexually assaulted by Roy Moore in a locked car, further rocking the Alabama Republican's race for an open Senate seat.

The allegation came on day when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Moore should quit the contest, and Moore fired back that it was McConnell who should step down.

Even before the news conference by Beverly Young Nelson, Moore's campaign released a statement saying that attorney Gloria Allred – who's representing Nelson – "is a sensationalist leading a witch hunt." It said Moore is innocent and "has never had any sexual misconduct with anyone."

In tears, Nelson said in New York that when she was 16, Moore drove her home from the restaurant where she worked. She accused him of touching her breasts and locking the door to keep her inside his car. She said he squeezed her neck while trying to push her head toward his crotch and tried to pull her shirt off.

Moore finally stopped and as she fell or was pushed out of the car, he warned her no one would believe because he was a county district attorney, Nelson said.

Before today, Moore was already battling allegations reported last week by The Washington Post he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl decades ago when he was in his 30s and pursued romantic relationships with three other teenagers.

"I believe the women," McConnell, R-Ky., said today in response to a question at an appearance in Louisville, Kentucky. He said flatly Moore should step aside for another GOP candidate.

When the Post's story first broke last Thursday, McConnell had said Moore should step aside if the allegations were true.

McConnell said a write-in effort by another candidate was a possibility.