Police investigate Anthony Weiner after report of explicit chats with 15-year-old girl

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Anthony Weiner has acknowledged he communicated online with a teenage girl who accused him of sending sexually explicit messages, but he said he’s also been the subject of a hoax. Photo: AP

Published: 1:31pm, 23 Sep 2016Updated: 9:21pm, 23 Sep 2016

Federal prosecutors and New York police are investigating former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner following a media report that he engaged in sexually-explicit cellphone and online messages with a 15-year-old girl, officials said on Thursday.

The probes came after DailyMail.com, the online version of a British newspaper, on Wednesday published an interview with the unnamed girl, who described months of online and text exchanges with Weiner in which she said he asked her to undress and touch herself.

Weiner, 52, did not respond to requests for comment. He said on Wednesday that he had “likely been the subject of a hoax”, while acknowledging he had communicated with the girl.

A New York Police Department spokesman said the police are “looking into the allegations and are investigating.”

New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin attend a news conference in New York in 2013. Photo: Reuters

The office of US Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose in Charlotte is “reviewing all materials relevant to the matter,” spokeswoman Lia Bantavani said.

Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara and the FBI are also investigating, according to a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.