Beverly Nelson, who accuses Moore of assaulting her when she was 16, made annotations on the message Moore, then 32, allegedly wrote in her 1977 yearbook

Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore has branded one of his accusers a liar, after she admitted adding notes to a crucial piece of evidence.

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Moore faces – and denies – multiple accusations of sexual misconduct towards teenage girls decades ago, including one involving a 14-year-old.

Beverly Young Nelson was 16 when, she alleges, Moore groped her and tried to force her into a sex act in his car. Nelson has offered as evidence a 1977 high school yearbook that she says was signed by Moore. The inscription reads: “To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say Merry Christmas. Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, DA. 12-22-77 Olde Hickory House.”

Olde Hickory House was the restaurant in Gadsden, Alabama, where Nelson worked when Moore, in his 30s at the time, allegedly assaulted her. The entire note was initially implied to have been written by Moore, which he denied. Nelson acknowledged on Friday that the date and location annotations were hers.

“He did sign it,” she told ABC News.

When interviewer Tom Llamasput put to her, “And you made some notes underneath,” Nelson replied: “Yes.”



In a Friday afternoon press conference in Atlanta, the attorney Gloria Allred announced that the inscription and signature had been analysed by Arthur Anthony, a forensic document expert. In his report, which Allred presented to reporters, Anthony concluded that the note and signature belonged to Moore.

“The expert’s opinion is important [and] we hope that the voters of Alabama will take into consideration when they vote next Tuesday,” Allred said.

“We look forward to learning if Alabama voters will believe Roy Moore’s accusers or if they will ignore the evidence presented to them and instead elect a man who denies the allegations against him and who attacks those who dare to tell what they say is the truth about Roy Moore.”

We look forward to learning if Alabama voters will believe Roy Moore’s accusers or if they will ignore the evidence Gloria Allred, Nelson's lawyer

Allred brushed off claims from Moore supporters that Nelson’s admission undermined the authenticity of the yearbook entry.

“It is also a defamatory statement to accuse her of a crime,” Allred said. “So I would say that anyone who accuses her of a crime or me should proceed at their own risk and their own peril. And I would say such risk and such peril are significant under the circumstances.”

Nelson showed reporters the yearbook, turning to the page where she says Moore signed it. She also pointed to a photo of Moore’s wife, Kayla Moore, who Nelson said was in her class in high school.

“I am a Republican who supported Mr Trump for president,” Nelson said. “I did so because I thought that he cared about people like me. I am very disappointed that I was wrong.

“President Trump has chosen to support a powerful politician like Mr Moore over women like me who accuse Roy Moore of preying on them when they were in their teens.”

But the issue of the yearbook annotations was seized on by Moore. “Now she herself admits to lying,” read part of a tweet from his account. “Let’s count how many national outlets will ignore the fact that she admits to lying.”

At a press conference in Montgomery, lawyer Phillip Jauregui said that in her first media appearance with Nelson, Allred had claimed “with her client … nodding in agreement, that everything written on that page was written by Judge Moore. Well, today it’s a different story, isn’t it? They’re not saying that any more. They’re saying that parts of it were not written by Judge Moore.

“We suspected it back then and we demanded that they turn over the yearbook so that we could test the ink, test the writing and test everything. We renew that demand today: release the yearbook so that an independent expert – not your paid expert – an independent expert, a neutral third-party custodian can take it and look at the ink so we can find out: is the ink a month old or is it 40 years old?”

Jauregui added: “The truth is out there and until she releases the yearbook all we know is they’re not telling the truth and they’ve lied.”

He left the room with taking questions.

Moore was endorsed by Trump last weekend and is running ahead of Democrat Doug Jones in the polls ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Trump tweeted on Friday: “LAST thing the Make America Great Again Agenda needs is a Liberal Democrat in Senate where we have so little margin for victory already. The Pelosi/Schumer Puppet Jones would vote against us 100% of the time. He’s bad on Crime, Life, Border, Vets, Guns & Military. VOTE ROY MOORE!”

In her ABC interview, Nelson said: “Is the party more important really than what happened? I feel like my incident is being swept under the rug, literally, because he’s a Republican.”



Nelson, who went public after the Washington Post reported on allegations made by four women, added: “It sickens me to wonder what may go on with him if he gets into office.”

She said Moore offered her a ride home after work but instead parked the car and tried to assault her. He told her not tell anyone about the alleged incident, she said.

“He could be doing this still,” Nelson added. “We don’t know. And, then again, I hope that he’s changed. I pray that he’s changed. I really do.”

Moore has been embroiled in fresh controversy over comments he made at a rally in September. Asked by an African American member of the audience when he thought America was great, the former judge reportedly answered: “I think it was great at the time when families were united – even though we had slavery – they cared for one another. Our families were strong, our country had a direction.”

The president was set to hold a Friday night rally in Pensacola, Florida, near the Alabama border.