GOP strategist who accused Matt Schlapp of sexual assault is himself accused of sexual assault in unrelated case

By Jamie Gangel, Gregory Krieg and Elizabeth Stuart, CNN

Carlton Huffman, the Republican strategist who has accused conservative leader Matt Schlapp of sexual assault is now being accused of sexual assault by two women, according to court documents filed in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The two women, aged 19 and 22, allege that Huffman, 39, performed unwanted sexual acts on them.

The incident is alleged to have occurred overnight in the early hours of February 15 at the home where Huffman was living. One of the women was a new roommate of Huffman’s at the time. Raleigh police were called and an incident report was filed, classifying the allegations as forcible fondling, a sex offense, according to a public copy of the police report obtained by CNN.

CNN is withholding the women’s names due to the nature of the allegations.

Although no criminal charges have been filed, the 19-year-old was granted a restraining order by a Wake County district judge against Huffman following the alleged incident. The 22-year-old obtained a 10-day restraining order and her complaint was subsequently dropped.

“Carlton Huffman sexually assaulted me,” one of the women said, according to the court documents. “He performed sexual acts on me digitally and orally without my consent.”

The women allege in their filing that after a night of drinking with Huffman, he followed the women upstairs to a bedroom. They also allege he had a gun inside the house.

“Carlton had a gun in the house, as we saw it when he placed it on the table earlier in the night. This in combination with being intoxicated, uncomfortable, and the fact that he was also almost 20 years my senior, made me hesitant to speak out during the act,” one of the women said, according to court documents.

One of the women told CNN she isn’t commenting on the alleged incident at this time; CNN was unable to immediately reach the other woman.

When CNN asked Huffman about the allegations, he acknowledged engaging in sexual activity with the women, but denied any wrongdoing.

“At no point did they tell me no,” Huffman told CNN. “I was kissed. I was touched in sensitive areas. I did not force myself onto anybody.”

Huffman also confirmed that he had been drinking “copious amounts of tequila” with the women and acknowledged he had a loaded gun inside the house.

When CNN raised the question of why Huffman hadn’t disclosed the allegations against him sooner, especially in light of his charges against Schlapp, Huffman adamantly denied that he had done anything wrong.

According to the court documents, both women mentioned that Huffman’s firearm was on display during a portion of the night, adding to why they felt uncomfortable. Huffman told CNN he’d taken his gun out after hearing a loud noise from another part of the house.

“It was present. It was not a danger,” Huffman said.

Huffman’s attorney did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Huffman is currently suing Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, for sexual assault in connection with an alleged attack last October in Georgia. Huffman was working for Republican Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign at the time.

Until this week, Huffman had remained anonymous in his case against Schlapp, but Huffman revealed his identity after a judge ruled that he couldn’t move forward anonymously with his lawsuit.

Schlapp has denied the allegations against him. Representatives for Schlapp declined to comment on the newly revealed allegations against Huffman.

The-CNN-Wire
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