Seattle Mayor Ed Murray Asks for Dismissal of Sex-abuse Suit

SEATTLE (AP) — Attorneys for Seattle Mayor Ed Murray have formally denied allegations of sexual abuse and asked that a lawsuit making the claims be dismissed.

The Seattle Times reports lawyers Malaika Eaton and Robert Sulkin wrote in court papers filed Wednesday that Murray "denies any inappropriate contact with the Plaintiff or any minor."

The lawsuit was filed in April by Delvonn Heckard, a 46-year-old suburban Seattle man, who claims Murray raped and molested him in the 1980s as a juvenile.

Murray has repeatedly rejected Heckard's allegations — as well as those by three other men. Murray recently abandoned his re-election campaign, acknowledging damage from the accusations.

Murray's attorneys argue in their filing that Heckard had failed to state a legitimate claim in the lawsuit and that the claims are barred by Washington's statute of limitations. They also ask that Murray be reimbursed for legal costs.