A woman has accused a member of the Tampa City Council of sexual battery.
Tasha McCray, 50, stood up in front of the Tampa City Council meeting on Thursday to request closure from Tampa City Council Chairman, Frank Reddick, on an incident that allegedly occurred while she was in junior high school.
McCray, who we are naming because she made accusations during a public city council meeting, said she is seeking verbal closure from the city council member regarding an alleged sexual battery incident that she says changed her.
McCray says the incident occurred 38 years ago while she attended Wilson Junior High School, now Woodrow Wilson Middle School, in Tampa. She stood before the council and told them she has reported the incident to police and has done "everything" she can.
As she finished speaking, she told council members she had a police report she would be leaving with the Mayor.
McCray accused Tampa City Council Chairman Frank Reddick of sexually battering her when she was in the 7th grade, according to a police report from Tampa Police Department.
McCray told police she lived within walking distance of Reddick's house at the time of the incident and her parents knew him. When Reddick was interviewed by detectives, he denied knowing her but ultimately learned that his cousin was a childhood friend of the victim's. He did tell police that the victim's parents lived close to his grandmother's home. He said that he knew the McCray's step-father.
When ABC Action News asked Reddick about the allegations he said "I do not know her."
Tampa Police have listed the case as inactive and the police report says "there is not sufficient probable cause to charge Reddick with a crime in this case."
Watch the video from Thursday's Tampa City Council meeting below
Reddick's attorney released a statement on Thursday. In the statement, Attorney Daniel J. Fernandez says Reddick has been wrongfully accused and that the Tampa Police Department has investigated and closed the file without charges.
Reddick has served on the City Council since 2011.
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