Al Gore won't be prosecuted in sexual assault probe (2nd Roundup)

Jul 31, 2010, 3:18 GMT

Washington - Prosecutors in the US state of Oregon Friday concluded there are no grounds for charging former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore with sexual assault of a masseuse.

Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk said in an e- mailed statement that he agreed with the recommendation by investigators that there be no criminal prosecution.

Investigators found that the red-headed massage therapist Molly Hagerty, 54, had contradicted herself, that her clothes contained no semen and that she had been paid by a notorious tabloid newspaper for her story.

Gore said through a spokesperson that he was 'pleased that this matter has now been resolved.'

'Mr. Gore unequivocally and emphatically denied this accusation when he first learned of its existence three years ago. He respects and appreciates the thorough and professional work of the Portland authorities,' said Kalee Kreider in a statement.

In a memorandum to Schrunk recommending the case be dropped, one of his deputies, Don Rees, also cited 'credibility issues, lack of forensic evidence and denials by Mr Gore.'

Police in the city of Portland had reopened the case several weeks ago. Hagerty had reportedly accused Gore of sexually assaulting her in a Portland hotel in 2006, but her lawyer cancelled meetings with police in early 2007 saying it would be handled 'as a civil matter.'

It was reopened after Gore's accuser gave an interview published in June to the tabloid National Enquirer, for which she was paid, police noted. Hagerty had earlier tried in vain to get the Portland Tribune to publish her allegations, police noted.

In the Enquirer interview, Hagerty called Gore a 'pervert and sexual predator' for requesting a 'happy ending' at the end of a massage session. She claimed that he sexually assaulted and groped her when she refused.

Hagerty failed to provide medical records and other documents she claimed would prove her case, and failed a lie detector test, Rees noted. Forensic testing of pants she gave to investigators failed to show the presence of semen.

Gore and wife Tipper announced in June that they were separating after 40 years of marriage.