North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore has been accused of using his political position to coerce sexual favors, including group sex, from a state government employee, according to a lawsuit filed June 18.
The $200,000 lawsuit, filed by former Apex City councilman Scott Lassiter, alleges that Moore was engaged in a multi-year affair with Lassiter’s ex-wife, Jaime Liles Lassiter, who works as executive director of the North Carolina Conference of Clerks of Superior Court. The lawsuit also alleges that Moore pressured Liles Lassiter to engage with him in “group sex with other individuals seeking [his] favor.”
“Tim Moore used his position as one of the most powerful elected officials in North Carolina to entice Plaintiff’s wife, Jamie Liles Lassiter, a mid-level employee of the state government, to participate in an illicit relationship with him,” the lawsuit reads. (RELATED: NC GOP Censures Senator Over ‘Violations’ Of Party Platform)
Moore “convinced Mrs. Lassiter to engage in degrading sexual acts with him, including group sexual activity with others over whom he had power or influence,” according to the complaint.
The affair reportedly started as far back as 2019 when Moore “aggressively pursued a sexual relationship with Mrs. Lassiter, even though he knew that she was married,” according to the complaint.
“Mrs. Lassiter tearfully confessed that she had been involved in an extramarital affair with Defendant Tim Moore for more than three years…and that she feared ending the relationship with [Moore] would result in losing her job,” reads the lawsuit.
653979009 2023-06-18 Complaint Lassiter v Moore Dmid1 5zan9bo7u by Daily Caller News Foundation on Scribd
The lawsuit claims that Liles Lassiter confessed the relationship to her husband in 2022 and that they separated in January 2023.
Liles Lassiter claimed her ex-husband “has serious mental health and substance abuse issues” that led him to file the lawsuit in a statement to WRAL. She said the “claims are not only false but impossible as we’ve been separated with a signed separation document for years.”
“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,” she said in a statement to Axios.
The complaint also alleges Moore, himself, admitted the affair to Lassiter and implied he could pull off “political favors” for him.
“Tim Moore asked Plaintiff ‘on a completely unrelated note’ if there was anything he could do for Plaintiff, implying that he could use the power he held as Speaker in some way to benefit Plaintiff,” the complaint read.
“This is a baseless lawsuit from a troubled individual,” Moore said in a statement to Axios. “We will vigorously defend this action and pursue all available legal remedies.”
Moore and Scott Lassiter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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