Seattle mayor asks court to dismiss sexual abuse lawsuit

SEATTLE -- Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has filed court papers seeking to have a sex-abuse lawsuit against him dismissed.

The Seattle Times said in the court papers filed Wednesday, attorneys Malaika Eaton and Robert Sulkin wrote that Murray "denies any inappropriate contact with the Plaintiff or any minor."

The lawsuit against Murray was filed in April by 46-year-old Kent resident Delvonn Heckard, who claimed Murray paid him for sex when he was 15 and Murray was in his 30s in the 1980s.

According to the Times, in the seven-page motion to the Heckard lawsuit, Murray's lawyers denied he ever had a mole on his genitals described by Heckard and that the mayor underwent a medical examination to prove it.

Murray's lawyers argued that Heckard had failed to state a legitimate claim and that any claims are barred by the state's statute of limitations, and they asked that the suit be dismissed and the mayor be reimbursed for his legal costs.

Murray has repeatedly denied the accusations in the lawsuit, but he recently decided not to continue his re-election bid because of the damage done by the allegations.