Sheriff: Claims against Missouri lawmaker not credible

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri sheriff says he didn’t find credible a report that a man who is now a state lawmaker had sex with a drunken 19-year-old while on duty as a police officer in 2015.

Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte dismissed the claims as “sour grapes” and said they were brought forward by law enforcement officials with political vendettas against Rep. Chad Perkins, a 42-year-old Republican from Bowling Green.

The comments come as Korte is under scrutiny because other law enforcement officers claim the sheriff downplayed the case and told law enforcement under him not to pursue it further.

Perkins told The Associated Press he couldn’t answer questions about whether he ever had sex with the woman when she was drunk.