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At public meeting, woman claims Tampa City Council chairman sexually assaulted her

The woman claims the alleged assault happened decades ago when she was in seventh grade.
The woman claims the alleged assault happened decades ago when she was in seventh grade at Wilson Junior High School.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A woman accused Tampa City Council Chairman Frank Reddick of sexual battery -- all during a public meeting Thursday. She says the assault happened decades ago when she was in seventh grade at Wilson Junior High School.

At that same time, in the late 1970s, Reddick was an employee of Hillsborough County Schools and worked at her school. 10News is naming the alleged victim in this report because she made the accusation publicly.

The woman, Tasha McCray, said she did so because she feels she has run out of options.

“I've tried on every level to get verbal closure with no success, and I feel that this is the only way that I can get acknowledgment needed to freely move on with my life,” she told the council.

She has gone to the police, and they investigated the case last month. McCray details the allegation in that report reviewed by 10News: She told police she snuck out of her house and went to Reddick's home. She claims he gave her some alcohol and then tried to force himself on her.

“I need to get my life back,” McCray said. “I've been holding onto this for 38 years, and I've done everything in my power to make this person show ownership.”

In the same police report, Reddick denies even knowing McCray and told police: "I have never mistreated a woman in my life."

The report also details how investigators tried to get Reddick to confess to the victim on the phone and through text messages, but he did not respond.

In the end, police found they didn't have probable cause to charge Reddick. The report now lists the case as inactive.

Officers also asked Reddick's attorney for an interview, but he refused. 10News reached out to Reddick Thursday night to get his response to the public allegation, but we haven't heard back.

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