ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) – The chairman of an Alabama newspaper company has resigned following accusations that he assaulted female newsroom employees in the 1970s by spanking them.
The Anniston Star reports that Brandt Ayers resigned Thursday as chairman of the board of Consolidated Publishing Co. Ayers, now 82, said his resignation was in the best interest of the newspaper.
At least three women said Ayers, then a newsroom executive, assaulted them in the mid-1970s, once using a metal ruler. Ayers issued a statement saying regrets things he did when he was younger. In an earlier interview with his paper, Ayers claimed he was acting on a doctor’s advice when he spanked one woman.
Ayers became a nationally known voice of Southern liberalism during his tenure as editor and publisher of the Anniston paper.
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