An ally of Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is combating allegations that he had sexual contact with underage women, defended Mr Moore by noting the age gap separating the parents of Jesus Christ.

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[Moore] retains supporters in his home state, among them Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler. Mr Ziegler told the Washington Examiner that “there’s nothing to see here”, noting that the alleged encounters would have occurred decades ago and that the women quoted by the Post did not say intercourse occurred.

Then Mr Ziegler floated a religious justification, noting the age gap between the parents of Jesus Christ.

“Take Joseph and Mary”, Mr Ziegler told the Examiner. “Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus”.