Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigns after fifth man pins shocking sex abuse allegations on him

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigned Tuesday after his younger cousin publicly accused him of of sexual abuse—the fifth man to allege inappropriate sexual conduct by the Democratic leader, the Seattle Times reports.

Joseph Dyer came forward Tuesday with new charges of sexual abuse, accusing Murray of molesting him in his mother’s Long Island home in the 1970’s, when Dyer was only 13.

“There would be times when I would fake sleeping because I didn’t want him touching me,” Dyer told the Seattle Times. “And that’s when he would molest me. And my mother would be right there in the house, she’d be in the living room … watching TV, at that time it was probably “M*A*S*H.” And my sisters would be in their rooms, sleeping. And I would be in my room, and he would be in there, molesting me.”

Four other men have come forward saying they were victims of Murray’s advances.

Murray insists the accusations are the product of bad blood, but nonetheless opted to step down from his role as mayor.

“While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public’s business,” Murray said in a statement.