Republican lawmaker and candidate for governor denies sexual assault allegations

State Rep. Robert Goforth, a Republican candidate for governor, on Wednesday denied accusations of sexual assault made in an online petition and newspaper interview by a woman with whom he had a relationship a decade ago.

The allegations describing two separate assaults in late 2008 and early 2009 were made in recent days by Alicia Whitaker, who first met Goforth when she lived near his family in Somerset. In a prepared statement Wednesday, Goforth said he was unmarried when he and Whitaker had “a brief, consensual relationship.”

“Having long since moved on with my life, I believed she had as well,” said Goforth, who is serving his second term as a state representative from East Bernstadt.

“The allegations that I assaulted Ms. Whitaker are categorically false. I have never assaulted anyone. My wife, Ashley, and I, do not take these allegations lightly and are troubled deeply by them. As a husband and father, sexual assault and violence against women sickens me, and I condemn any such acts in the strongest possible terms,” Goforth said.

Whitaker posted her allegations in a MoveOn.org petition urging Goforth to drop out of the gubernatorial race and on her Facebook page, and she went into greater detail Wednesday in an interview with the Commonwealth Journal in Somerset.

“Robert Goforth, you sexually assaulted me in your apartment above your original pharmacy in Somerset, KY on Bogle St, forcing me to engage in sexual acts I did not consent to,” Whitaker wrote in her petition. “You are the prime example of a man who believes he is entitled. You are not entitled; not to the bodies of women who refuse you, not to the Governorship.”

The Herald-Leader left a message for Whitaker on Wednesday at the Lexington apartment where she now lives, but she did not respond.

Whitaker told the Commonwealth Journal that she had a consensual relationship with Goforth about a decade ago. However, he forced her to perform oral sex on one of his business associates, Michael Ingram, who in 2017 was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and money laundering, she told the newspaper.

“I begged (Goforth) to stop; I did not want to engage in sexual acts with Ingram,” Whitaker wrote in an email that was sent to an attorney, according to the Commonwealth Journal, which reported that it has seen the email. “But Goforth shoved my head down on Ingram … He held me by the hair and laughed as he forced me into the act.”

In his statement denying sexual assault, Goforth said Ingram was a friend and employee a decade ago, but he has not spoken to Ingram in four years. Goforth is a licensed pharmacist, though he no longer actively practices after selling several pharmacies in the area. Ingram went on to start his own pharmacy with “absolutely no connection to any of my pharmacies,” Goforth said.

In a separate incident, Whitaker told the Commonwealth Journal, Goforth “tried to force me to have sex with him” in an apartment over one of his pharmacies. Goforth grabbed her wrist to hold her still and only let her escape after she threatened to scream for help from an outside deck, she said.

The Commonwealth Journal said it interviewed one of Whitaker’s friends, who asked to not be named. The friend said Whitaker tearfully confided to him accounts of both incidents around the time they allegedly happened, according to the newspaper.

Goforth said Wednesday that he won’t drop out of the gubernatorial race. When he announced his candidacy Jan. 8, Goforth was sharply critical of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, who says he will seek re-election, accusing Bevin of maligning and talking down to Kentuckians.

“I will continue to focus on my work as state representative, and to take our people-first message across Kentucky,” Goforth said Wednesday.

By John Cheves
Lexington Herald-Leader

Goforth left this on his FB page

“…When we started this campaign, we knew it wouldn’t be easy. Ashley and I prayed hard about it, and decided ultimately that Kentucky was worth fighting for, no matter what mud might get slung or what ugliness might come our way.  Taking on an incumbent Governor and his fellow elites was never going to be without its challenges.  I’ll gladly take the arrows and the stones thrown, because they’re nothing compared to what thousands of Kentuckians have to face everyday—whether it’s struggling to pay their rent, buying medicine, feeding their families, or having enough gas to get to work.  I grew up poor and struggling and was told I’d stay that way. With God’s help, I beat that cycle of poverty and have dedicated my life to helping others.  I’ve dealt with bullies and defied the odds my entire life, and I’m not stopping now! I’ll always tell you the truth, and I’ll never stop fighting for Kentucky! -Robert