Former U.S. vice-president turned into “sex-crazed poodle,” woman says
A Portland massage therapist claims former U.S. vice president Al Gore groped her, kissed her and made unwanted sexual advances during a massage session in October 2006 in a Portland hotel suite. The woman said she informed two friends about the incident and kept the clothes she wore that night, including a pair of black pants with a stain on them, but police did not investigate further due to lack of sufficient evidence to support the allegations. In a detailed statement given to Portland sexual assault investigators in January 2009, the woman said she was called to a hotel room on the night of October 24, 2006 to give Gore a massage after he attended a speaking engagement. While giving Gore an abdominal massage, she said he demanded that she go lower and soon grabbed her right hand and shoved it under the sheet. The woman said she tried to use an acupressure technique to relax Gore and thought she put him to sleep, but said Gore fondled her back, buttocks and breasts as she was trying to break down her massage table. She said she did not initially tell police about the incident for fear of not being believed. The woman’s attorney filed a complaint with police about two months after the encounter, but the woman didn’t show up for three scheduled interviews with investigators. At that time, police were told the woman did not want to press criminal charges and would pursue a civil case instead. No civil suit has been filed.