US Senator Brown says was sexually abused as child

BOSTON | Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:28pm EST

BOSTON Feb 16 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown says in an interview with the program "60 Minutes" that he was physically and sexually abused as a child, CBS said on Wednesday.

The Massachusetts senator, 51, says he was sexually abused by a camp counselor and physically abused by stepfathers, according to a statement from the network's news program.

"He said, 'If you tell anybody ... I'll kill you. I will make sure that nobody believes you,'" Brown says of the encounters with the counselor, according to CBS.

Brown catapulted onto the U.S. political scene in 2010 by winning the Senate seat held for decades by Democratic icon Ted Kennedy, who died in 2009.

The interview is to be aired on "60 Minutes" on Feb. 20. The revelations are also detailed in Brown's upcoming book, "Against All Odds."

Brown said in a statement he hopes people are inspired by his message.

"My book is about overcoming obstacles. The physical and sexual abuse is in my book. It's a part of my life, but it certainly isn't the only part of my life story which I tell," he said. (Reporting by Lauren Keiper; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.