Shortly after his younger cousin publicly accused him of sexual abuse, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced his resignation from office this week while continuing to deny the numerous accusations against him. Since the allegations began emerging in April, Murray’s cousin has become the fifth person to openly accuse the mayor of molesting him as a child.
In April, Delvonn Heckard of Kent, Washington, filed a lawsuit alleging that Murray had “raped and molested” him during the 1980s while Heckard was a drug addicted teenager. As the mayor denied the accusations, three more victims stepped forward alleging that Murray had sexually abused them in their teens.
After watching Murray on TV holding a press conference to publicly denounce his accusers as dishonest drug addicts with criminal pasts, his cousin, Joseph Dyer, provided a signed declaration earlier this month accusing Murray of molesting him as a child and preying upon other children at a nearby orphanage. Upon penalty of perjury, Dyer asserted that he has never been in contact with the other victims and only composed the signed declaration because Murray was utilizing his position of power to “slander” the other victims.
“I am the cousin and childhood sex abuse victim of Mayor Ed Murray,” Dyer wrote in his declaration. “My grandmother, Helen, is the sister of Murray’s mother, Ann Murray. I have come forward after these years to stand in support of the claims on the part of Delvonn Heckard, the other accusers, and all sex abuse victims. I am offering this declaration to rebut Murray’s claims that he never molested a child and/or the allegations against him were concocted as some sort of right-wing conspiracy. I do not know any of the other victims mentioned in this statement, and I am not part of any conspiracy. I am, in fact, related to Murray. I am Murray’s cousin.
“As a teenage child, Murray resided with our family when we lived in Medford, New York. I was born in 1963, and Murray resided with our family for about a year in the mid-1970s. During that time, Murray regularly molested me in ways that can best be described as repeated and prolonged Child Molestation of the First Degree, or worse. Murray is an aggravated sex predator, and I was his victim for an extended period. In the same timeframe, it was well understood and believed that Murray victimized other children at the local orphanage.”
According to Dyer, Murray continued molesting him until moving out shortly after a child at the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Little Flower group home for children accused Murray of molesting him. The Little Flower group home reportedly does not have any record of why Murray left.
In July, newly disclosed documents revealed that an Oregon Child Protective Services’ investigator confirmed Murray had sexually abused his foster son who reported the incessant molestations in 1984. Although Murray was not criminally charged, he was no longer allowed to become a foster parent again.
“While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public’s business,” Murray wrote in a recent statement announcing his resignation. “It is best for the city if I step aside. To the people of this special city and to my dedicated staff, I am sorry for this painful situation.”
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