Portland: A Portland massage therapist accused former US vice president Al Gore of "unwanted sexual contact" at a hotel during an October 2006 visit, but no charges were filed due to lack of evidence, law officials said.
An attorney representing the woman contacted police in late 2006, said Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk.
Schrunk said the woman who has not been identified refused to be interviewed by detectives and did not want the investigation to proceed.
The woman, however, contacted police in January 2009 and gave a statement, saying Gore tried to have sex with her during an appointment at the upscale downtown Hotel Lucia, where Gore was reportedly registered as "Mr Stone”.
The National Enquirer first reported the allegations yesterday, identifying the accuser as a 54-year-old woman.
Gore family spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said the former vice president has no comment.
In a transcript of the interview released by police, the massage therapist said she had an appointment with "Mr Stone" at 10:30 pm but the hotel`s front desk told her he wouldn`t be available until 11 pm. When she knocked on the door, Al Gore opened it, and when she asked what she should call him, he replied to "Call me Al”, the woman told police.
She said she was doing requested abdominal work on Gore when he started to moan and demanded she go lower.
"I was shocked, and I did not massage beyond what is considered a safe, non-sexual area of the abdomen," she said.
He further insisted and acted angry, becoming verbally sharp and loud.
"I went into much deeper shock as I realised it appeared he was demanding sexual favours or sexual behaviours."
The woman said Gore grabbed her hand and shoved it toward his pubic area. She alleged he later tried to have sex with her and began caressing her before she squirmed out of his grasp.
"I did not immediately call the police as I feared being made into a public spectacle and my reputation being destroyed," she said.
"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."
Detective Mary Wheat, a Portland police spokeswoman, said the woman contacted detectives this month and asked for a copy of her statement. The woman, according to Wheat, said she planned to take her case to the media.
PTI
