The victim of an alleged sexual assault by Perry Hooper Jr. is speaking out after the former lawmaker this week called a video of his actions “laughable” and sued the city of Montgomery over his August arrest.
“I have been in the long, slow process of healing, which has included extending sincere forgiveness to Mr. Hooper every single day; although it is now clear that my forgiveness and dismissal of charges was based on a false statement from Mr. Hooper,” Elizabeth Daly said in a statement Thursday to reporters.
The statement says that immediately after the alleged assault at a Montgomery restaurant where she was serving as hostess Hooper said, “I’ll get away with it, because I am Perry Hooper.”
Hooper is a former state representative and helped organize former President Donald Trump’s election efforts in Alabama in 2015 and 2016. He is a member of the Alabama Republican Party’s Executive Committee. His father, the later Perry Hooper Sr., was an Alabama chief justice.
According to an August affidavit filed in Montgomery County District Court, Hooper “grabbed the victim’s breasts and waist while shoving his pelvis against the victim’s backside. He then began kissing her neck before she was able to break free.”
He was indicted by a grand jury in November on one count of first degree sexual abuse.
In her statement, Daly said she asked late last year that the charge be dropped, “with the agreement of Mr. Hooper to publicly apologize and take accountability for his actions as well as never speak negatively about me. This agreement was reached in good faith and trust on my part, which has been betrayed and violated.”
Daly said she was not compensated as part of the agreement. In December, Hooper issued a public apology for his “regrettable conduct.”
Daly said she chose not to pursue the charges because she believes in forgiveness and atonement and to save herself “the additional turmoil of a trial.”
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Circuit Court in Montgomery, Hooper alleged his arrest was a set up by political enemies who want to destroy him because of his support for Trump.
Hooper said he did kiss Daly on the cheek and was thanking her for getting his party a table. He said the interaction “lasted 2.2 seconds.”
Daly refuted that.
“The video in its entirety (which is more than 2.2 seconds) tells a powerful story of sexual assault as a crime of opportunity, ownership and degradation,” Daly said.
She also praised law enforcement for their handling of the case and said they deserve better than the allegations leveled in Hooper’s lawsuit.
The city has not commented on the lawsuit because it is ongoing litigation.
Thomas Gallion is Hooper’s attorney in this lawsuit. He’s requesting a judge declare that the defendants have violated the state’s open record laws and have Hooper’s records released to him. He’s also requesting his attorney fees be paid “award such other relief the court considers appropriate.”