REAL TAR HEEL

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore Accused of Coercing State Employee Into Affair

A former councilman accused the speaker of using his power to entice his wife into a three-year-long sexual relationship. Moore denied the accusations.

A powerful Republican state lawmaker is accused of using his position to coerce a state employee to stay in an extramarital sexual relationship with him, according to a lawsuit filed by the woman’s ex-husband. Scott Lassiter, a former Apex City councilman, is suing North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore. Lassiter claims Moore “used his position as Speaker” to entice his then-wife Jamie Lassiter, executive director of the North Carolina Conference of Clerks of Superior Court, into a three-year affair. In the suit, Lassiter says his wife admitted to the affair, and to “group sex with other individuals seeking Tim Moore’s political favor,” but “implored” him to allow it to continue so that she didn’t lose her state-funded job. Both Moore and Jamie Lassiter have denied the claims. “Our marriage was a nightmare, and since I left him it has gotten worse. We are reaching the end of our divorce process and this is how he’s lashing out,” Jamie Moore told local outlet WRAL. Lassiter is seeking $200,000 in damages.