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Criticism Sharpens in Accusations Against VA Lt. Governor

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D-VA)
official photo
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D-VA)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - One of the two women accusing Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault says his response has been "disgraceful, irresponsible and manipulative."

In an interview aired Monday with CBS News, Vanessa Tyson criticized Fairfax for comparing himself to lynching victims when he defended himself in a speech on the state Senate floor in February.

"Never was it two black women lynching black men," Tyson told interviewer Gayle King. Both Tyson and the second woman to accuse him, Meredith Watson, are African American. So is Fairfax.

Tyson says Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex in 2004. Watson says she was raped in 2000. Fairfax says both encounters were consensual.

Fairfax, a Democrat, issued a statement Sunday saying he passed polygraph tests questioning whether the encounters were consensual.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.