John Hathaway was a primary candidate for the Republican nomination to run for the U.S. Senate in 1996. The seat was open after the retirement of Sen. William S. Cohen. Also running in that primary, were Susan Collins and Robert Monks. During the campaign, word got out that in Alabama he had been accused of raping a twelve-year-old girl, his children’s babysitter.
Hathaway was not prosecuted because her family refused to allow her to testify to avoid more trauma to the little girl. The girl became “troubled” and was sent to a boarding school where she told a counselor about the abuse that began when she was twelve and continued for eighteen months.
He denied it vociferously, but officials in Alabama repeatedly confirmed they believed he was guilty. Monks was blamed for spreading the allegations and Hathaway’s denial was credibly refuted by the Alabama Attorney General and others. With Monks and Hathaway attacking each other, the road for Collins nomination was wide open.
- Washington Post: A Beneficiary in Maine Tumult
- UPI: Maine candidate fights sex charge
- AP News: Candidate says sex allegations are smear attempt
06 June 1996