First, it was #MeToo. Now, it’s #MeAt14 — women take stand against teen sexual harassment

As yet another woman on Monday accused the GOP U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama of sexually assaulting her and bruising her neck four decades ago when she was a teenager, women across social media are sharing pictures of their teenage selves alongside the hashtag #MeAt14.

The social media campaign surfaced after the Washington Post published an extensive report last week detailing an allegation that Roy Moore — the Republican nominee for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat — initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney. In the Post report, Leigh Corfman alleges Moore in early 1979 took her to his house, kissed her, touched her and took off her clothes when she was 14.

The Post also interviewed three other women who said Moore pursued them decades ago when they were between 16 and 18 and he was in his early 30s. Moore initially denied the accusations but in an interview with Fox News, he declined to rule out the possibility that he may have dated girls in their late teens when he was in his 30s. He said he couldn’t remember.

Monday’s allegation comes from 55-year-old Beverly Young Nelson of Alabama, who said she was a 16-year-old waitress at a restaurant when Moore, then the district attorney of Etowah County in Alabama and a regular at the restaurant, offered her a ride from work at around 10 p.m. She spoke at a news conference in New York.

Instead of taking her home, the woman said Moore pulled the car into a dark and desolate area between a dumpster and the back of the eatery.

“When she asked what he was doing, Nelson alleges, Moore put his hands on her breasts and began groping her. When she tried to open the car door and leave, Nelson said, he reached over and locked the door. When she yelled at him to stop and tried to fight him off, she alleges, he tightly squeezed the back of her neck and tried to force her head toward his lap. He also tried to pull her shirt off,” the Post reported.

Faced with the growing controversy, Senate Republican leaders urged Moore to step down Monday, declaring him “unfit to serve’’ and threatening to expel him if he were elected to the U.S. Senate.

“I believe the women, yes,” Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday of the allegations.

Meanwhile, cyberspace is being populated by photos of common teenage awkwardness: girls with acne-riddled faces, messy, unkempt hair and metal braces.

The point?

To raise awareness about teens being too innocent, too immature and unable to consent to sexual relations. In the U.S., the age of consent ranges from 16 to 18.

Alyssa Milano is one of those women:

“ I worshiped my brother. I loved my dog, Pucci. I loved OMD. I had Big hair. I was happy. I was innocent,” she posted on Twitter.

Mary Ann Campbell‏ echoed Milano.

“Not old enough to drive. Not old enough to work without a permit. Not old enough to see an R-rated movie. Not old enough to consent. #MeAt14,” she posted.

Twitter user @sharahmeservy told the story about how she “started crying at a dance because [she] was scared of dancing with boys.”

“Not old enough to consent to a romantic relationship with an adult man!” she wrote.

Others described themselves as bookworms, in cheerleading camp or “still trying to figure out how to do my bangs.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 10:56 PM with the headline "First, it was #MeToo. Now, it’s #MeAt14 — women take stand against teen sexual harassment."