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Virginia Lt. Gov. Fairfax’s Lawyers Ask Prosecutors to Investigate Sexual Assault Allegations

Lawyers for the Virginia lieutenant governor say they are confident an investigation will prove he is innocent.

Lawyers for Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax have asked prosecutors in North Carolina and Massachusetts to open criminal investigations into sexual assault allegations leveled against him in February, local news station 8News WRIC reports. Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry and Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Ian Polumbaum both reportedly received the letter from Fairfax's legal team encouraging an investigation into the “public and serious criminal” allegations against their client, who has been accused of sexually assaulting Vanessa Tyson at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, and former Duke University student Meredith Watson in the spring of 2000. He has denied the allegations, and his lawyer has said the best way to prove the claims are false is to investigate the matter. “If an investigation were to determine that the allegation is true, it should be criminally prosecuted,” his lawyer, Barry Pollack, reportedly wrote. “Conversely, if an investigation were to determine that the allegation is false, which Lt. Governor Fairfax is confident would be the conclusion of any unbiased and professional investigation, the matter should be closed and the public informed.”