Michael Kennedy asked forgiveness from his wife, his children and the family of the baby sitter with whom he reportedly had an affair. He said only that he made "serious mistakes."
Prosecutors announced Tuesday they were dropping an investigation into whether he had sex with his family's baby sitter before she turned 16, saying the young woman had refused to cooperate.Hours later, Kennedy, a son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, issued his first public statement since the story began making headlines in April.
"I know that will be difficult, but I hope that in time the (baby sitter's) family will forgive me," Kennedy said.
"I also hope that my wife and children will forgive me and that I can someday earn and deserve their confidence again," he said. "I intend to do all I can to make up for the serious mistakes I have made and to continue the help I need."
Kennedy, himself a political player in Massachusetts, has previously said he was undergoing treatment for alcoholism.
Norfolk County District Attorney Jeffrey Locke said he was dropping his investigation into statutory rape allegations because of a lack of help from the baby sitter, now a 19-year-old college sophomore.
Locke said he had no independent, compelling evidence that Kennedy had a sexual relationship with the baby sitter before she turned 16.
Kennedy, 39, was suspected of having an affair with the girl when she was as young as 14. Days after he and his wife, Victoria, announced they were separating, The Boston Globe reported in late April that she had caught her husband in bed with the baby sitter two years ago.