Brandon Vang and his wife are incensed about a recent campaign mailer accusing him of statutory rape.

In an exclusive interview with GV Wire on Wednesday, Vang and May Lee denied allegations made in the mailer by the dark money political group Fresno Future Forward.

“This is wrong. These accusations are … from these heartless, ruthless, inhuman people. They are false and they’re hurtful to my husband, myself, our kids,” Lee said.

Vang, a Sanger Unified trustee, is one of five candidates running for the vacant Fresno City Council District 5 seat representing southeast neighborhoods. The special election is Tuesday, March 18.

Fresno Future Forward sent a mailer last week to District 5 voters accusing Vang of statutory rape from 1993. The mailer included an image of a court document — a lawsuit from the Fresno County District Attorney, Family Support Division — seeking to establish Vang as the parent of the child in question and to pay child support.

“I was extremely upset that they went after my family. They went after my wife. They went after my children. My wife and my children did not sign up for this campaign,” Vang said. “There should be areas where politics should not go into. And that was, we believe, a violation of that. So we’re angry.”

Said Lee: “I as a mother, I have to be cautious because who knows? Their friends may be looking at them and saying, oh, you know what? Yeah, we saw this. And you know what? Your dad’s a rapist. And that to me is disgusting.”

Both said they’ve been strengthened by support from friends and voters.

She Was 15, He Was 20 When Child Was Born

However, Vang and Lee admit she was 15 and he was 20 when they had their first child in 1993. The couple said they were married in 1995.

The age of consent for sexual intercourse in 1993 was 18 — as it is today. The only exception is for a married couple.

“There was no alleged statutory rape,” Lee said.

Vang and Lee say that no criminal investigation took place nor was there an arrest.

“The allegations are totally false. There was no rape. There was no statutory rape. There was no file. And I don’t have any criminal records, or any court proceedings or any arrests for any matter, including the so-called alleged rape,” Vang said.

“We weren’t really dating in terms of the definition of dating. I mean, we knew each other a couple of months before. But remember, this is in the 90s and, the culture (of) dating in terms of, you know, the American definition of dating, it really didn’t happen. We we knew each other,” Vang said.

Vang said he had “no knowledge” of a lawsuit filed by the DA’s office in 1993.

“I have never received any document from the county regarding any child support. And if it is, you know, we want to resolve that if we can. But I have never received any letters, like this is what the county is suing you for, this is litigation. No summons. No nothing,” Vang said.

Vang wonders how Fresno Future Forward got hold of the 1993 court document. The filing is marked confidential. When GV Wire requested a copy from the court, a clerk said the document was not a public record.

“Who has access to that and who got their hands on that?” Vang said.

Vang: Voters Don’t Care

Fresno Unified Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas, nonprofit leader Jose Leon Barraza, Paul Condon, and write-in candidate Nickolas Wildstar are also running. They are competing to fill the seat vacated by Luis Chavez, who won election to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors in November.

Vang said voters he’s spoken with since the mailer surfaced aren’t writing off his campaign.

“They don’t care. They know, they saw through this (as) a pure political attack on a candidate who is leading in the race. An overwhelming majority of the people who I talk to, not only voters, but people who I come across on the streets and talk to, they are 100% behind my campaign,” Vang said.

Vang said supporters have messaged their support.

“The consensus out there amongst people who I talked to, including the voters, is, I’m doing a great job. Keep up the good work. And at the end, you know, my family and I will be stronger. And so it has been a very positive out there. The support is overwhelming,” Vang said.

Fighting through tears, Lee said, “People who know us know that this is false. I think it’s just really sad that I have to have friends who reach out to me and say that, you know what? It’s OK because we get it behind you and we support you in all the way.”

As of March 1, Vang reported raising $118,634. Jonasson Rosas reported raising $103,874. Leon Barraza reported raising $21,350.

Vang declined to answer, how he as a school board member, would handle a 15-year old Sanger Unified student being impregnated by a 20-year old.

“I’m not going to entertain any, you know, hypothetical situations,” Vang said.

Wife: ‘No Regrets’

Vang said he’s been a father to his son “since day one.” He has raised all four of their children, including leaving the workforce to become a full-time father.

He said he and his wife were “high school sweethearts,” but clarified not in the literal sense because of the five-year age difference.

Lee said she has “no regrets.”

“Because if I had regrets to what happened, we would not be sitting here today. I would not have allowed myself to go through this, to follow and take this route with Brandon,” Lee said.

She said her husband supported her through nursing school, “becoming the woman I am today.”

Although Lee is supporting her husband, she won’t be able to vote for him. She said she is not yet an American citizen, but legally in the country.

Related Story: With Immigrant Backgrounds, Vang, Leon Barraza Seek Fresno Council Seat

Who Is Behind Group?

Although Fresno Future Forward filed its campaign documentation with the city of Fresno on Tuesday — a day after Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz launched an investigation — who is behind the group remains a mystery. The committee spent more than $4,400 on the mailer.

Related Story: Janz Reveals Treasurer of Group Behind Attack Mailer, Issues $1K Sanction

“It is my opponent who wants to … destroy my family. This is character assassination on me. This is destruction of my family. Again, this is beyond politics,” Vang said. “My opponents has no boundaries. Has no human decency … Not just political decency, not just political norms, but human decency. And this is not acceptable. And the voters know that.”

Vang wants Janz to continue the investigation.

“There’s a lot of people that should be held accountable for this dark money. There was no transparency until the city attorney got involved,” Vang said.

Vang said “everything is on the table” regarding other legal avenues, such as filing a lawsuit.