Roy Moore camp challenges accuser to provide evidence of groping as allegations threaten to derail Senate bid

Under fire candidate demands that handwriting expert analyse yearbook claimed as proof

Beverly Young Nelson speaks to the media at a news conference where she accused Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexually abusing her (Getty)

Roy Moore’s beleaguered Senate campaign is pushing back on allegations that he forcibly groped a 16-year-old girl, questioning the validity of a yearbook Mr Moore’s accuser offered as evidence.

Mr Moore has been battling to preserve his a campaign that all but assured him a spot in the US Senate until the Washington Post published an explosive report alleging Mr Moore engaged in sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old and sought relationships with three other teenagers while in his 30s.

Days later, Beverly Nelson stepped forward to allege Mr Moore groped her when she was 16, making the claim at a conference with attorney Gloria Allred. Seeking to demonstrate she had met Mr Moore in 1977, when she said the groping occurred, Ms Nelson offered up a yearbook she said he had signed after meeting her at the restaurant where she worked.

Now Mr Moore’s campaign is disputing that account, seeking to cast doubt on the yearbook entry’s authenticity and demanding that Ms Nelson allow a handwriting expert to examine the yearbook.

“Release the yearbook so we can determine: is it genuine or it a fraud?" Phillip L Jauregui, an attorney for Mr Moore, demanded at a press conference in Birmingham, Alabama.

In addition, Mr Jauregui disputed Ms Nelson’s claim that she did not see Mr Moore after the alleged incident, claiming her divorce case later went before the then-judge.

Ms Allred responded to the Moore campaign’s demand with a statement saying she had contacted a pair of Senate committees asking for hearings examining the allegations against Mr Moore. If either or both of the committees agree, Ms Allred said, she would agree to have the yearbook examined.

“The time has come for Roy Moore to announce whether he is willing to be examined under oath concerning his conduct with regard to the five accusers before the Senate Committees,” Ms Allred said.

Bill Armistead, Mr Moore’s campaign chairman, said the candidate had “been falsely accused of some things he did not do” and that “we can’t stand by idly and let false charges go by”. Mr Moore has emphatically denied that he engaged in sexual misconduct, dismissing accusations that he did so as partisan attempts to derail his candidacy.

“I have never engaged in sexual misconduct,” Mr Moore said in a statement last week.

The disavowals have not been enough to stem an exodus of Republican senators away from Mr Moore, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adding his voice to the chorus calling for Mr Moore to drop out of the race. The Republican National Committee severed ties this week by ending a fundraising partnership.

A defiant Mr Moore has rejected those calls and sought to deflect the criticism back at a Republican Party institution he has said seeks to quash his candidacy.

The conservative former judge toppled establishment favourite Luther Strange in the primary election, with former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon throwing his clout behind the outsider.