On Monday, the Montgomery District Attorney dropped the sex abuse charge against former State Representative Perry Hooper Jr. after his accuser asked that the charges be dropped.
“The State of Alabama has concluded that without the victim’s testimony and cooperation, the evidence would be insufficient to attain a conviction,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Azzie Taylor wrote in a motion filed in Montgomery County Circuit court on Monday morning.
Hooper, age 68, was indicted on sex abuse charges by a Montgomery County grand jury last month. Hooper was arrested in August after an incident at a downtown Montgomery restaurant on Commerce Street.
The alleged victim, Elizabeth Daly, wrote in a statement released to Alabama Today, “I have asked that any charges against Perry Hooper be dismissed. The matters relating to Mr. Hooper and me have been resolved, and going through the turmoil of a trial would provide no more justice than getting a sincere public apology from Mr. Hooper. I so respect and appreciate law enforcement and the job they have to perform. Nevertheless, I request these charges be dismissed.”
Daly has asked that the press respect her privacy and not contact her. When asked for comment, Hooper told Alabama Today to refer all questions to his attorney.
Hooper is a member of the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee representing Montgomery County and a member of the Board of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Hooper was a frequently published political commentator whose columns were frequently published at 1819 News and the Montgomery Advertiser.
According to an affidavit, Hooper approached a woman (Daly) working at a restaurant from behind and allegedly grabbed her breasts and waist in an unsolicited embrace while shoving his pelvis against the victim’s backside and began kissing her neck before she was able to break free.
Hooper’s next court date was scheduled for December 21 with Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines. Hooper is represented by veteran Montgomery defense attorney Joe Espy.
Hooper served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1983 to 2002.
Hooper was an early backer of Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primary season and chaired the Trump Victory Fund in the 2016 campaign. Hooper was a frequent visitor to the Trump Whitehouse and Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort.
Hooper’s father, Perry Hooper Sr. – now deceased, was the first Republican Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court since Reconstruction. Hooper is married and has three sons and a number of grandchildren.
Hooper Jr. was one of six finalists that then-Gov. Robert Bentley considered for appointment to the U.S. Senate in 2017. That appointment instead went to Luther Strange. Hooper endorsed Strange rather than running in the Republican primary. Former Chief Justice Roy Moore defeated Sen. Strange in the primary but lost to Clinton-era U.S. Attorney Doug Jones in the special election.
An indictment is merely the finding by a grand jury that the prosecution has presented enough evidence for a jury trial to take place. An indictment is simply a formal accusation. Under the American justice system, all persons are presumed innocent unless found guilty by a jury of their peers.
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