(CNN) — Vanessa Tyson, the woman who has accused Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, issued a statement Wednesday describing the alleged 2004 incident.
“What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault. Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch. Only then did I realize that he had unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants, and taken out his penis. He then forced his penis into my mouth,” Tyson said in a statement.
The allegation first became public Sunday evening on the conservative website Big League Politics. Fairfax has denied the allegation and called the 2004 interaction, which both say took place in Boston at the Democratic National Convention, “100% consensual.”
Tyson said Wednesday that she released the statement about the encounter to set the record straight and that she does not want to get “further embroiled” in the political situation.
The top three Democrats in Virginia’s state government are currently contending with various controversies, including Gov. Ralph Northam and state Attorney General Mark Herring admitting to having worn blackface in the 1980s.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
