By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr has apologized to a former family babysitter who accused him of sexual assault, the woman told Reuters on Friday.
The woman, Eliza Cooney, told Vanity Fair in an article earlier this month that Kennedy groped her in the family kitchen when she was employed as a part-time babysitter in the late 1990s by Kennedy and his then-wife Mary Richardson.
Cooney, who was 23 at the time, confirmed the incident to Reuters. The Washington Post reported first about the apology on Friday.
"I read your description of an episode in which I touched you in an unwanted manner," Kennedy said in a text message sent to Cooney that was seen by Reuters. Reuters verified it was Kennedy's cellphone number using TLOxp, a service that provides public and proprietary data.
"I have no memory of this incident," the text continues, "but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings."
"If I hurt you, it was inadvertent. I feel badly for doing so."
Kennedy added he would prefer to tell Cooney this by phone and "preferably" face-to-face.
Kennedy's campaign did not respond to a request for comment. "The text message speaks for itself," he told The Post.
When asked to comment previously on the sexual assault allegation, Kennedy said: "I had a very, very rambunctious youth."
"I said in my announcement speech that I have so many skeletons in my closet that if they could all vote, I could run for king of the world," he added.