Locals Say Moore Was Banned From Mall for Harassing Girls

After a woman came forward to accuse Roy Moore of sexually assaulting her when she was a 16-year-old waitress, he issued another denial, saying he didn't know her or the restaurant she worked in—but her yearbook appears to tell a different story. Beverly Young Nelson showed reporters a high school yearbook with the inscription: "To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say 'Merry Christmas.' Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, D.A. ... Olde Hickory House." The signature matches that from a document Moore signed earlier this year, tweeted Business Insider's Josh Barro. The Alabama US Senate candidate didn't comment on the yearbook during his Monday press conference, during which he said the accusation was "absolutely false" and he doesn't know where the eatery "is or was," the Week reports. In other developments:

• Not welcome at the mall. More than a dozen sources tell the New Yorker that Moore was either banned or "run off" from the Gadsden Mall in his hometown for persistently trying to pick up teen girls when he was in his 30s. Former mall employees say they were told to look out for an older man pestering young girls. "The general knowledge at the time when I moved here was that this guy is a lawyer cruising the mall for high-school dates," one law enforcement officer says.

• 'Not a big secret.' Blake Usry, a nurse in Gadsden, is among the locals who say Moore's habit of cruising for teenage girls was common knowledge in the town for more than 30 years. "It's not a big secret in this town about Roy Moore," he tells AL.com. "That's why it's sort of frustrating to watch" people disbelieve his accusers, he says.
• Waiting for Trump. Top Republicans are calling for Moore to leave the Senate race, and White House officials have contacted Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, about the issue, insiders tell the Washington Post. But the sources say officials are waiting for Trump to return from his Asia trip and clarify his stance before they try to put pressure on the governor. "It's tough having him out of town because no one wants to get too far ahead of him," one senior Republican says.
• No write-in precedent. Names including Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Sen. Luther Strange have been floated as potential write-in candidates now that it's apparently too late to remove Moore from the ballot, though officials say there's no precedent for a successful statewide write-in campaign, the Decatur Daily reports.

• A letter of support. Moore's wife, Kayla Moore, posted a letter of support on Facebook Sunday signed by more than 50 pastors, AL.com reports. But the letter, which calls Moore an "immovable rock in the culture wars," appears to date from before the GOP primary. At least two of the pastors have asked for their names to be removed.
• Hemorrhaging support. Moore continued losing Republican support after the newest accusations, with Texan Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz among those withdrawing their endorsements, the Hill reports. Cruz said the accusations "if true, not only make him unfit to serve in the Senate but merit criminal prosecution."
• Moore's warning. The New York Daily News has more on Young Nelson's accusations. She told reporters that after offering a ride home, Moore drove behind the restaurant, groped her, and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him. She says after Moore finally gave up, he told her: "You are a child. I am the district attorney of Etowah County. If you tell anyone about this, no one will believe you." She says after Moore unlocked the car door, she either "fell out or he pushed me out."

(More Roy Moore stories.)