Second woman accuses Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of assault

A second woman on Friday accused embattled Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax of sexual assault.

A woman named Meredith Watson said through a statement from her attorneys that Fairfax raped her in 2000 while they were students at Duke University. The statement describes the alleged incident as "premeditated and aggressive."

Earlier this week, Vanessa Tyson, a politics professor at Scripps College, released a detailed statement alleging that Fairfax, a Democrat, forced her to perform oral sex on him at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Fairfax has denied the allegation several times and said his interaction with Tyson was consensual.

Watson's attorneys alleged an incident similar in detail to that described by Tyson. They said she was friends with Fairfax at the time but did not have a romantic relationship with him.

The attorneys said she shared her account of the incident with friends via email and social media, and they say they have statements from former classmates corroborating that Watson told them "immediately" afterward about the incident.

"At this time, Ms. Watson is reluctantly coming forward out of a strong sense of civic duty and her belief that those seeking or serving in public office should be of the highest character," the statement reads. "She has no interest in becoming a media personality or reliving the trauma that has greatly affected her life. Similarly, she is not seeking any financial damages."

Watson is calling on Fairfax to resign from his position, the statement said.

Copyright 2019 U.S. News & World Report

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