A number of staffers working for embattled Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax have stepped down days after a second woman accused him of sexual assault, a spokeswoman for his office confirmed.
Meanwhile, the second accuser, Meredith Watson, called for public hearings before the General Assembly and said she would be willing to testify.
Those who have resigned include Fairfax's policy director, Adele McClure, and his scheduling director, Julia Billingsley, said spokeswoman Lauren Burke, who remains on.
Two employees of his We Rise Together political action committee, Dave Mills and Courtney McCargo, have also resigned.
News of the resignations was first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday.
Gov. Ralph Northam's press secretary, Alena Yarmosky, said she was not aware of any resignations from state agencies as a result of the scandal surrounding the governor and Attorney General Mark Herring, who both acknowledged wearing blackface while in college.
Fairfax continues to face intense scrutiny this week about remaining in office after Watson accused Fairfax of raping her in 2000 while they were students at Duke University.
Vanessa Tyson, a professor at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., has also leveled assault allegations against Fairfax, describing a forceful act at his hotel room at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
Fairfax has strongly denied both allegations, and said he deserves due process.
Calls for Fairfax's resignation grew wider late last week after Watson's account was released through her lawyer. One Democratic delegate, Patrick Hope, said he planned to file articles of impeachment come Monday if Fairfax hadn't stepped down.
Hope walked back his plans after speaking with Democratic colleagues over the weekend.
In a statement Monday evening, Watson's attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, said Virginia should hold public hearings so Fairfax cannot "assault the character of his victims in secret."
Smith said Watson and Tyson "will produce witnesses and documents to show their honesty and good character."
(c)2019 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
