Amy Acton’s stepsister backs her accounts of abuse and homelessness

A newly identified stepsister of Amy Acton has said she believes Acton’s accounts of childhood sexual abuse and homelessness are true, backing claims challenged in an advert funded by Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign. Ramaswamy has called Acton a liar and unstable, drawing criticism as the Ohio governor’s race becomes focused on painful family history.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said her late sister Christine was raped more than once by their father, Cledith Arthur, before he married Acton’s mother. Newspaper reports cited in the article say Arthur was charged with incest in 1974 and with raping 12-year-old Acton in 1978; he fled Ohio, never stood trial and died in 2004. The stepsister also said the family had lived in a tent, as Acton has described.