Accuser calls for a public hearing of assault allegations against Virginia’s lt. governor

Vanessa Tyson, the professor who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) of sexual assault, on Sunday called for a public hearing on the allegations that she and a second accuser made against Fairfax.

“The Virginia people to know who it is that they elected. They need to know. I think the Virginia people, the voters of Virginia, have a right to know both my story and Meredith’s story. I think there should be a public hearing,” she said during an interview set to air on “CBS This Morning.”

VA Lt Gov @FairfaxJustin accuser @VanessaCTyson tells @CBSThisMorning co-host @GayleKing she came forward because “the Virginia people need to know who it is that they elected.” pic.twitter.com/CsYheIpBis

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 31, 2019

{mosads}Tyson, a professor of politics at Scripps College in California, said Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Separately, Meredith Watson has said Fairfax raped her while they were both undergraduate students in 2000 at Duke University.

Fairfax has denied the allegations. He has called for an FBI investigation into the allegations. His attorney, Barry Pollack, on Sunday also circulated a statement saying that Fairfax took two polygraph examinations, one relating to the allegations brought by Watson and one relating to Tyson’s accusations.

During both polygraph examinations, Pollack said, Fairfax was asked whether he engaged in any non-consensual sexual activity with either Watson or Tyson. He was also asked about specific allegations brought by both women. Fairfax passed both examinations, according to the statement circulated Sunday.

Tyson said in the CBS interview she preferred a public hearing, because, she said, powerful people could sweep an investigation under the rug.

Tyson said she would be willing to testify “in front of the Virginia General Assembly, under oath.”

“I would want Meredith, myself and Mr. Fairfax to be able to speak, to be heard,” Tyson added. “And particularly for survivors I think this is critically important. They need to be heard. We need to be seen. We need to be treated as the human beings that we are.”