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---
title: Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teenagers
description: Responding to allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with teenagers, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore denied the reports
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author: Tessa Berenson
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article:published_time: 2017-11-10T21:49:41.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:28:08.015Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: 'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teens
og:description: He said the allegations were "false and misleading"
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og:image:alt: Alabama GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore Holds Election Night Gathering In Special Election For Session's Seat
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twitter:title: 'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teens
twitter:description: He said the allegations were "false and misleading"
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# 'I Dated a Lot of Young Ladies.' Roy Moore Says He Doesn't Remember Dating Teenagers

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NwYX4OYX.m3u8" -->
## Video: More Women Are Accusing Roy Moore of Sexual Misconduct. Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Scanda

[Watch (HLS stream): More Women Are Accusing Roy Moore of Sexual Misconduct. Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Scanda](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NwYX4OYX.m3u8) (1:09)

![More Women Are Accusing Roy Moore of Sexual Misconduct. Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Scanda](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NwYX4OYX/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2017-11-09. Another woman came forward on Wednesday to accuse Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct, saying he groped her in 1991 after she met with him in his law office to discuss custody of her children._


![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)


![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Tessa Berenson


Nov 10, 2017 9:49 PM UTC

Another woman came forward on Wednesday to accuse Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct, saying he groped her in 1991 after she met with him in his law office to discuss custody of her children. 

![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)


![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Tessa Berenson


Nov 10, 2017 9:49 PM UTC

Responding to allegations that he engaged in [sexual misconduct with teenagers](http://time.com/5017542/roy-moore-sexual-contact-underage-senate/), Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore categorically denied the reports but was inconsistent in his defense.

Moore began his appearance on conservative pundit Sean Hannity’s radio show by saying, “These allegations are completely false and misleading.”

He then said, “After my return from the military I dated a lot of young ladies.” Four women have accused him of pursuing them when he was in his 30s and they ranged in age from 14 to 18\. But Moore then changed his tune, saying “I don’t remember” dating women that much younger than him, and, “I don’t remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother.” And later he said “it would have been out of my customary behavior” to date women that young when he was in his thirties.

“This never happened, they know it never happened, and obviously you don’t wait 40 years to bring up something like this,” he said.

He was similarly contradictory talking about the specific allegation from Gloria Thacker Deason, who [told the Washington _Post_ ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-encounter-when-she-was-14-he-was-32/2017/11/09/1f495878-c293-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0%5Fstory.html?tid=ss%5Ftw&utm%5Fterm=.fceece18f5e5)she was 18 when she went on dates with Moore and he gave her Mateus Rosé wine. The legal drinking age in Alabama at the time was 19\. He said he didn’t remember going on dates with Deason, though he acknowledged he knew her. Then, he said, “As I recall, she was 19 or older, that just never happened, I never provided alcohol, beer or intoxicating liquors to a minor… I seem to remember her as a good girl.”

He also said he remembered knowing Debbie Wesson Gibson, though does not remember speaking to her high school civics class, as she claimed. “I seem to remember knowing her parents,” he said. “I remember her as a good girl.” He said he does not remember going on dates with her.


But Moore categorically denied engaging in sexual behavior with then 14-year-old Leigh Corfman. “I don’t know Ms. Corfman from anybody,” Moore said. “I’ve never talked to her, never had any contact with her.” He claimed her accusations are “politically motivated.”

“If you abuse a 14 year old, you shouldn’t be a Senate candidate,” Moore said. “But I did not do that.”


## Transcript

[ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] If the allegations are true to me, he immediately needs to step aside. How concerned are you that this is gonna hit the Republican Party? Well, I think if he Does what he should do, does the right thing and steps aside, I don't think it will hurt the Republican party .

>> If they're true, he should step aside. I don't care what side of the aisle you're on, that's a horrific situation. It's very concerning. [ MUSIC ]

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