Delvonn Heckard, the man who sued Mayor Ed Murray for allegedly sexually abusing him in the 1980s, has now filed a claim with the city clerk saying Murray defamed him. Heckard is seeking $1 million to $3 million in damages. If the city denies Heckard's claim for damages, he could sue.
The Seattle Times broke the news today:
In his claim, Delvonn Heckard, 46, is seeking damages for harm he experienced when Murray, âutilizing and abusing his position of powerâ as mayor âfalsely and defamatorily accused Mr. Heckard, a gay man, of participating in an anti-gay right wing conspiracy along with other victims including Jeff Simpson and Lloyd Anderson.â
The two-page claim form, submitted Wednesday on Heckardâs behalf by his attorney, Lincoln Beauregard, contends Murrayâs private lawyers and personal spokesman participated in the alleged defamation âduring various press conferences over a period of months.â
Murray has denied the allegations of sexual abuse. Heckard dropped his lawsuit in June, pledging to refile it later.
At the time Heckard filed his initial civil suit in April of this year, two other men, Jeff Simpson and Lloyd Anderson, made similar allegations against Murray. Simpson and Anderson were not involved in the suit but said they had also been abused by Murray when they were teenagers in the 1980s. They first came forward with their allegations about a decade ago, but media outlets did not report them at the time. Simpson was once Murray's foster son in Portland. New documents uncovered this month by the Times show that a Child Protective Services investigator in 1984 found Murray had sexually abused Simpson and said Murray should no longer be allowed to be a foster parent. Murray was not criminally charged.
Heckard's lawyer, Lincoln Beauregard, told the Times today that's further evidence the claims are not part of a political conspiracy. "As a point of advocacy, the 1984 Simpson stuff proves that there is no right-wing conspiracy, unless I time traveled," Beauregard told the Times.
