'He should not get a free pass merely because of his position,' accuser tells police.
Former Vice President Al Gore speaks about climate change during a visit to the Philippines on June 8.A massage therapist claims former Vice President Al Gore made unwanted sexual advances at her during an appointment in his hotel suite in Portland, Oregon, back in 2006, when Gore was in town to deliver a speech on climate change.
After the allegations were made public in a National Enquirer story on Wednesday, police officials in Portland offered a statement that no charges were filed in the case due to a lack of evidence.
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According to District Attorney Michael Schrunk, an attorney for the alleged victim, who has only been identified as a 54-year-old woman, contacted police after the incident in 2006, but she refused to be interviewed and did not want the investigation to proceed. Her attorney said they would pursue a civil case instead, but so far, no lawsuit has been filed.
The woman later contacted police in January 2009 and gave a statement, saying she was called to Gore's hotel room at around 10:30 p.m. on October 24, 2006 to provide a massage. While doing requested work on his abdominals, the woman claims Gore pushed her hand to his groin area and later tried to have sex with her.
In her statement to police, the alleged victim calls Gore 'a crazed sex poodle,' She says she was intimidated by his 'rotund' shape, and that he had a 'violent temper, dictatorial, commanding attitude.'
"I did not immediately call the police as I feared being made into a public spectacle and my reputation being destroyed...I was not sure what to tell them and was concerned my story would not be believed since there was no DNA evidence from a completed act of rape. I did not even know what to call what had happened to me," the woman said in her police statement. "He should not get a free pass merely because of his position. People in power are not to be given a license to behave in ways that the rest of us are not."
oregonlive.com reports the woman told police she had confided in two friends and kept the clothes she had on that night, which had stains on them. But records show the police did not take that potential evidence, or interview her friends or anyone at the hotel.
Gore family spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said Wednesday the former vice president has no comment. Gore and his wife of 40 years, Tipper, announced their separation at the beginning of June.
» oregonlive.com: Portland woman says Al Gore groped her in hotel room
» AP: Ore. woman accused Gore of sex misconduct in 2006
» Politico.com: The Gore complaint
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