US congressman Gary Condit has admitted to having a sexual relationship with Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old government intern whose disappearance more than two months ago has sparked strong interest in the US, a source familiar with the investigation said late Saturday.
Condit, a California Democrat, acknowledged the relationship with Levy in his third interview with police detectives late Friday, saying it was still ongoing at the time of her disappearance on April 30, according to the reports.
PHOTO: AP
But police reiterated that the 53-year old congressman is not a suspect in the disappearance of the former federal intern.
In his third interview with Washington police and FBI agents, Condit acknowledged that his relationship with Levy, 24, was more than a friendship, said the source, who discussed the meeting on grounds of not being identified by name.
Condit had been less direct in describing the relationship in two earlier interviews, the source said.
Terrance Gainer, Washington's second ranking police official, would not discuss the details of the 90-minute interview, which Condit attended with his lawyer.
But Gainer said at a news conference Saturday that Condit was fully cooperative, answering every question he was asked.
"The congressman was not a suspect before the meeting, the congressman was not a suspect during the meeting and the congressman is not a suspect since the meeting," Gainer said.
Police had wanted more clarity from Condit about the nature of his relationship with Levy, whose home in Modesto, California, is in Condit's district. The congressman had called her a "good friend," but her relatives have described the relationship as intimate.
Gainer stressed that police still don't know what happened to Levy.
Levy, who holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and who was due to graduate with a master's degree from the University of Southern California in May, came to Washington last year to serve as an intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
She was last seen at her health club, and a search of her apartment turned up her packed luggage, jewelry, credit cards and US$30 in cash. Only her keys were missing.
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