"It did happen."
That, from a statement provided to the Times-Union from a woman who says she "must come forward with the truth" after Cohoes mayor Shawn Morse denied abusing her or other women.
"He has publicly claimed that I said the abuse never happened," reads the one-page statement to the paper from Colleen Keller. "The abuse started out with me being physically pushed, grabbed, and verbally degraded. It escalated from there."
Keller is one of three women who have allegedly been victims of physical abuse by Morse, who has said he will not resign his office. He has criticized T-U stories on his alleged behavior as inaccurate and unsubstantiated.
An attorney for Morse says the mayor denies Keller's allegations. Attorney Joseph Ahearn tells the paper Morse and Keller have a son together, but Morse has spoken to her only sporadically over the years.
photo: WGY news