An incoming Democratic state lawmaker in Missouri has accused a fellow Democrat of raping her at a St. Louis apartment.
Cora Faith Walker sent a letter Friday to Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson claiming that Steven Roberts, Jr. sexually assaulted her during an informal meeting in late August. According to a copy of the letter obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and published Saturday, Walker reported the alleged assault to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and asked the leadership in the Missouri legislature to keep Roberts from taking his seat until “this investigation is complete.”
Both Walker and Roberts are running unopposed for their seats, in the 74th district and 77th districts, respectively.
In a sit-down interview, Walker told the Post-Dispatch that she met with Roberts at a St. Louis apartment on Aug. 27 to discuss collaborative strategies for the upcoming legislative session. After consuming two glasses of wine, Walker said she woke up in the apartment with “no recollection of why I was still there.”
Two law enforcement sources confirmed to the Post-Dispatch that police are actively investigating a police report filed by Walker.
Roberts told the newspaper he was unaware he was being investigated, and his lawyer said that “whatever encounter occurred was completely consensual.”
The sexual assault allegation comes after a year of devastating headlines for the Missouri legislature. Richardson assumed the office of speaker last year after his predecessor, state Rep. John Diehl (R), resigned over sexually-charged text messages he exchanged with a college-aged intern. State Sen. Paul LeVota (D) also resigned last year over sexual harassment claims from interns.
Walker, a married attorney from Ferguson, Missouri, told the Post-Dispatch that she was coming forward to try to put an end to the Jefferson City culture “that perpetuates gender violence and rape culture.”
“The odds are against me,” Walker told the newspaper. “But I know what happened to me. And I know I don’t want it to happen to anybody else. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But it’s OK to speak up. It’s OK to be afraid.”
This takes courage.
Dooooooooh!
It does, and I really want to throw up after reading the article. She has to work with him everyday they’re in session, attend local events where he’s present, attend party meetings and conferences with him. It must be absolute torture. Good for her for standing up.
Is it possible to find date rape drugs in a blood test?
Sometimes. It depends on how soon after the assault she sought medical care. Rapes where there are drugs involved are trickier because the victim doesn’t remember what happened, and the self-blame game is even worse so they tend to wait much longer to report if they even decide to report. Plus, the fact that she had a couple glasses of wine might have made her even more hesitant to report.