State Rep. Ed Henry, a staunch supporter of Roy Moore's Senate campaign, said Friday he believes that Moore is the victim after being accused of sexual misconduct by a then-14-year-old girl.

And the four women who gave accounts of their encounters with Moore from the late 1970s to the early 1980s when they were in their teens and Moore was in his 30s are accomplices to any crime Moore may have committed.

The Washington Post on Thursday reported that Moore - then in his early 30s -- had a sexual encounter with 14-year-old Leigh Corfman in 1979 in Etowah County.

Corfman's attorney told AL.com that she stands by the comments she made to The Post.

Moore, the Republican nominee, has denied the allegations. He faces Democrat Doug Jones in the Dec. 12 Senate election.

Click here to read AL.com's coverage of Roy Moore.

"There are going to be instances where men and women make accusations like this where the accuser is the victim and then there are going to be instances where the accused is the victim," Henry, R-Hartselle, said in an interview Friday with AL.com. "I believe, in this instance, the accused is the victim."

Henry - co-chair of President Trump's campaign in Alabama last year -- considered running for the GOP Senate nomination before announcing he wouldn't by ripping his qualifying papers in half at a press conference in May. He then campaigned on behalf of U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, who finished third in the GOP primary.

Once Brooks was out of the race, Henry switched his allegiance to Moore in the runoff against U.S. Sen. Luther Strange.

Henry, who has said he will not run for re-election next year, also spearheaded efforts by the state House of Representatives in 2015 to impeach former Gov. Robert Bentley.

Henry appeared at a campaign rally with Moore outside Decatur on Oct. 28. He said he has not talked to Moore since The Post story broke around noon Thursday.

"I don't believe them," Henry said of Moore's accusers. "Maybe there is some legal prosecution for lying and interfering with a political process. But probably not. I would suspect there would be some type of litigation and lawsuits coming at some point. I don't believe them."

Henry said the women should be "accomplices" for any crimes that may have been committed because they did not come forward and, by their silence, helped cover up any crime.

"If anybody knows of a crime that there's a predator out there and you sit back and wait for 40 years to say anything about it and let those kinds of things happen, then you should be as guilty as they are for allowing that to occur," Henry said. "With things like the Bill Cosby incident where they paid people to be quiet, those people who were paid, to me, are as guilty as he was and should be prosecuted.

"And if these women truly believe that Roy Moore is a sexual predator, then they are equally as guilty for allowing a sexual predator to be out there for 40 years."

Henry was asked what crimes should the accusers be charged with.

"I never said these women should be prosecuted on the face of what they've done," he said. "If these women were, for 40 years, had protected a sexual predator, they should be accomplices to whatever crimes have been committed. If you know somebody, murdered somebody 40 years ago and you didn't say anything about it, you should be an accomplice to that crime. You have helped cover it up. You have helped keep it from going."

Henry also blasted Gov. Kay Ivey, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and others who made statements Thursday about Moore resigning his candidacy if the allegations are true, saying they were "stupid" for responding the way they did.

"It's a political cowardice," Henry said. "And you'll see it from the governor to Shelby to other individuals. As soon as something is said like this, there's a cowardice that causes them to err on this side of you're guilty until proven innocent.

"The what ifs? What if he's guilty? That is the most asinine question to ask these people and this is how cowardice and stupid they were for responding the way they did. Because the only question should be is, Who do you believe? Do you believe these four women or do you believe Roy Moore? That's the only question there is."

The accusers will benefit financially for telling their stories, Henry said.

"From their own position, they've been quiet for 40 years," he said. "And somehow, they think he's a predator. So why? Why have they sat quiet for 40 years if they truly believe he's this bad of an individual? It's not like he hasn't been in the limelight. It's not like he hasn't been controversial.

"This is the first time there is an ability for them to gain compensation. I guarantee you, at some point, they will be drug out in the media and put on talk shows and get to travel around and tell whatever story they want to tell. They will benefit from this. It's just a very opportune time. There is nothing in this that is looking for protecting society or any type of justice. This is purely a political weapon. It's the only thing it is. There's nothing else to it."

Henry also explained why he was so steadfast in his defense of Moore.

"I've been around him," Henry said. "I know him. I've never seen anything of any indication. I know people that have been around him for years and years and years. A lot of them are women and they've never made any kind of indication that he is this type of person. And all of the sudden, less than four weeks before a general senatorial election, four women are going to come out and talk about something that happened 40 years ago to a man that has bene high profile for the last two decades.

"It does not pass the smell test. As much as you guys want to make it into something, it doesn't pass the smell test."