lready facing allegations that he forced a former girlfriend to have sex, Jack E. Robinson, the wealthy businessman challenging US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, is facing new allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances to a woman on a blind date four years ago.
The woman, a clinical social worker, said yesterday that Robinson, after several drinks, repeatedly kissed her, forcing his tongue in her mouth, and refused to stop his advances despite her strong protests. She eventually warded him off.
In an interview with the Globe, the woman, who asked that only her first name, Ann-Marie, be used in the story, described the incident as a ''date from hell.'' She said she and her friends can now, four years later, laugh about the incident and refer to him as ''Jack the Tongue.''
But, the social worker said, she considers his forced intimate kisses to be a form of physical assault. She said she came forward after reading about the ex-girlfriend's allegations against Robinson to help underscore ''the true nature of his character.''
Robinson, who said he is planning a press conference in Boston to announce his candidacy for the Republican senatorial nomination to oppose Kennedy in November, brushed aside the allegation, saying he would not comment on it. He said he does not remember either the woman or the date. He said he would offer no further response to such ''malicious allegations.''
But he said he is shocked at the personal issues that have been raised about him, adding that he has ''it on high authority'' that the Kennedy camp is responsible for spreading them.
''That's totally ridiculous, but beyond that I am not going to comment,'' said Will Keyser, Kennedy's press secretary.
Robinson said the leaks have made it fair game for him to raise questions about Kennedy's personal life in the campaign, including the 1969 Chappaquiddick accident in which a female companion drowned in a car the senator was driving.
''What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,'' Robinson said.
Robinson is preparing to meet with reporters to address other controversies about his past, including a 1998 sworn statement by his ex-girlfriend that he forced her to have sexual intercourse in his Manhattan apartment. The woman made the statement in Attleboro District Court to get a restraining order. A month later, she agreed to drop the matter after the two signed an agreement not to contact each other.
Robinson is also dealing with the facts surrounding his arrest for drunken driving in Boston in 1985, a charge that was dropped when he passed a breathalyzer test. But police found a martial arts weapon called a Shuriken star in his jacket pocket. He was charged with possessing a dangerous weapon. The case was continued without a finding for a year. He said he does not know how the weapon got in his pocket.
Although Governor Paul Cellucci and his aides did not recruit Robinson, they quickly embraced him last week when he emerged suddenly as the party's candidate to challenge Kennedy. But by yesterday, Cellucci and his political aides seemed to be putting some distance between themselves and Robinson.
Cellucci stopped short of a full endorsement of Robinson, saying Robinson needs to address questions about his personal life.
''He has to answer questions,'' Cellucci said. ''I don't think he's done it yet. I expect him to address it.''
Still, Cellucci praised Robinson as a ''reformer'' in the mold of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. But Cellucci also noted that one of his major focuses as governor has been preventing domestic violence.
''As you know, I have zero tolerance for that kind of stuff,'' Cellucci said. ''He strongly denies it, so let's give him a chance to state his case. I want him to address the allegations.''
Anne-Marie said she met Robinson in March 1996 through an organization called The Right Stuff, which sets up dates among graduates of elite colleges. Robinson had responded to her ad and asked to meet her in Cambridge at the Rialto restaurant. When she arrived, Robinson greeted her, saying he had had a few beers. He ordered a bottle of champagne, most of which he drank, she said.
During the dinner, she said, he talked about his business accomplishments and said he was trying to decide whether to run for the US Senate in Massachusetts or New York. Afterward, she said, she agreed to drive him to where his car was parked.
''When we reached his car, I thanked him for dinner and waited for him to leave,'' she said. ''However, he lunged at me and forcibly French kissed me, sticking his tongue in my mouth. I told him he needed to leave.''
She said Robinson was oblivious to her revulsion, and asked her to travel with him to the Caribbean. ''Again, he lunged and kissed me. I was not at all attracted to him and did not want to touch him at all, much less experience these disgusting, invasive kisses,'' she said.
After persuading him to leave, she said, Robinson got in his car and drove away ahead of her. On a side street, he stopped and walked back to her car.
''I rolled down my window - my door was locked at this point - and asked what he wanted. He leaned into the window and French kissed me again,'' she said.
Robinson said he expected such allegations to surface once the other issues had been raised in the media.
''I knew once the original malicious allegations got out, there would be others,'' he said. ''It is unfortunate. I have been in politics five days and it has been a very interesting process.''
