© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Candidate Accused of Rape Says Relationship Was Consensual

missouri house floor
File photo
/
Missouri House Communications
The Missouri House of Representatives

A Missouri House candidate accused of rape by a fellow Democrat denies the allegation, saying he and the woman have been "intimate" but their interactions were consensual.

Steven Roberts Jr. said in a statement Monday the allegations leveled by Cora Faith Walker are "unequivocally false." Walker, in an interview with The Associated Press, accused Roberts of victim shaming and says she stands by her allegations.

Walker and Roberts both won St. Louis-area Democratic primaries and are unopposed in the general election.

Walker alleges Roberts invited her to an apartment on Aug. 26. After a couple of glasses of wine, she says she remembers nothing but woke up in a bed.

Roberts, who hasn't been arrested or charged, says everything that happened that night was "absolutely consensual."

Police declined comment, but Roberts' attorney has confirmed an investigation.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.