Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, the first openly gay mayor, is in hot water as new reports surfaced about a 1984 child welfare report. The report said that he sexually abused his teenage foster son and was reported by the Associated Press.
Murray recently announced that he will no longer seek re-election for the Seattle mayor post. This announcement came after four men claimed they were abused by the now-62-year-old politician. They said the abuse took place when they were still teens.
Details on the child welfare report
The child welfare report was made by a social worker with the Oregon Child Protective Services.
It was dated May 20, 1984, and concluded that Murray should not be certified as a foster parent in the future, Reuters reported. The foster child was around 13 to 15-years-old when the abuse took place.
The case worker, identified as Judy Butler, named the child as Jeff Simpson. Butler said that she interviewed children "of all ages and of all levels of emotional disturbance" related to being sexually abused, and she concluded that Simpson was also abused by the Seattle mayor.
DHS initially did not want to release record
The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) initially did not want to release the record. Later, they released only parts of the record, but The Seattle Times appealed. Earlier in July, DHS manager of the legal unit, Caroline Burnell, said that the release of the records was an attempt to protect other children/people in the same situation.
Sexually abused teenager speaks out
The sexually abused teenager in the records is the same person who came forward years ago. Simpson is one of four men who claimed Murray abused them. Simpson came out with the claim in 2008 while the other three men spoke about it just this year. The mayor dismissed the reports, saying that it was politically tainted.
Simpson said he was abandoned when he was a baby. He met Murray at a Portland center for troubled teens according to Oregon Live, and the mayor counseled him. He lived with Murray for more than a year and said that the abuse began when he was 13 years old. Simpson was not yet living with Murray that time as they only spent the weekend together when the first abuse took place.
It continued when Murray became Simpson's foster parent. Murray reportedly paid his foster son $10 or gave him drugs for sex. Murray left when he was 16. He is now 49 years old.
Simpson also said that he tried to look for the child welfare record regarding his case. When he heard the news that the records were out, he became thankful as something finally backed up his claims.
The second man was identified as Delvonn Heckard. He said that Murray paid him for sex numerous times in the 80s. The third man was identified as Lloyd Anderson and he said that he was also abused when he was still a teenager.
