Another married Republican Congressman arrested for gay solicitation

[Tock]

Why is it always the Republicans who do these things?

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/wate...?storyid=58791

Florida lawmaker arrested on sex charge

By: Kathryn Bursch

Representative Robert “Bob” Allen was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with solicitation for prostitution.

Titusville police say Allen was acting suspiciously at Veteran's Memorial Park by going in and out of the men's restroom. And that's where police say Allen offered to perform a sex act on a male undercover officer for $20.

As he was being transferred from the police station to the Brevard County jail, Allen told a reporter that the arrest was a “gross mistake”.

Rep. Robert “Bob” Allen, R-Merritt Island:
“Very big misunderstanding…that's what the judicial system's for. These guys did their job, but I'm not in any way associated with what they're saying and this is disgusting. ”
The solicitation for prostitution charge is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Allen, a Republican, was first elected to the House in 2000. He's married and has a teenaged daughter.

Kathryn Bursch, TampaBay's 10 News

[Tock]

A report from a little later . . . it sorta reminds me of that Rev. Ted Haggard who initially said he didn't have sex with that male prostitute:
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http://www.tampabays10.com/news/loca...?storyid=58876 http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/new...t-gu.html#more

Allen: I'm not guilty, won't resign
posted by bshaw on Jul 12, 2007 7:51:23 PM

TITUSVILLE – State Rep. Bob Allen emphatically declared his innocence Thursday of charges that he offered to perform a sex act on an undercover police officer. "I am vigorously going to fight this," said Allen, R-Merritt Island. "I am not resigning my office."

In a sometimes-emotional statement delivered at a news conference, Allen added, "This is an ugly and unpleasant situation that has been thrust upon me and my family."

The seven-year legislator urged his constituents not to jump to conclusions about the Wednesday afternoon arrest. However, he did not directly address what happened.

"I have to follow the legal process because I have been put into a legal process," he said, adding that in the past 24 hours he's grown closer to his wife and teen-age daughter "than I ever thought possible."

His attorney, Philip Lupo, said Allen would plead not guilty to solicitation of prostitution. The charge is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in the county jail and a $500 fine.

Allen was arrested outside the men's restroom at a Titusville park after offering to perform a sex act on a plainclothes police officer. He was later released after posting $500 bail.

Titusville officer Danny KavanaughÖ , who was staking out a nearby condo hoping to catch a burglar, said Allen approached him in the men's bathroom at Veterans Memorial Park around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In an arrest affadavit, Kavanaugh said he had washed his hands and, finding the sink's paper towel dispenser empty, had walked into a handicap stall to dry his hands. Allen first peeked over the door and then stepped inside, he said.

Allen proposed the two go across a nearby bridge because "it's quiet over there" and he would perform a sex act on the officer for $20, the affidavit said. They walked to Allen's car, where the officer identified himself and arrested Allen.

Reaction among Allen's fellow Republicans was cautious.

Rep. Mitch Needelman,Ö R-Melbourne, said that the allegations held "severe moral implications."

"For the foreseeable future Rep. Allen needs to put his political career on hold," Needelman said. "I have concerns for his family."

House Speaker Marco Rubio said in a statement that, "The charge against Rep. Allen is serious." But because it's a misdemeanor, he added, a guilty verdict would not require Allen to resign.

Asked in Miami about the arrest, Gov. Charlie Crist said, "It just seems sad and tragic." Allen entered the Legislature in 2000 and is best known for promoting economic development along the Space Coast. This year, he was chairman of the House energy committee.

He also sponsored legislation that toughened penalties for lewd or lascivious conduct and created a new provision that allows some sexual predators to receive life prison sentences for their offenses. Allen had dubbed the bill the "Sexual Predator Elimination Act."

Before his 2006 re-election, Allen had received a 92 percent rating from the Christian Coalition of Florida,.


Allen, 48, listed his $30,996 salary from his part-time service in the House as his top source of income last year, supplemented by $15,000 from a marketing company he runs called Allen Florida Group.

[Tock]

Wouldn't ya know it, but this fellow had worked hard getting a law pushed through the Florida Legislature outlawing this sort of thing, and the Florida Governor signed it into law just a few weeks ago.

Last year Rep. Allen was working on something called the "Sexual Predators Elimination Act."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=47726
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http://www.flgov.com/release/9116

GOVERNOR CRIST SIGNS LAW ENFORCEMENT LEGISLATION

June 20, 2007

Contact:

ERIN ISAAC

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today signed legislation to enhance law enforcement capabilities in Florida, further protecting Florida’s children from predators. Other bills signed today increase penalties for certain drunk driving accidents and for crimes committed against law enforcement officers. Additionally, Governor Crist announced that he has petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to convene a statewide grand jury to investigate gang activity.

“There is absolutely nothing more important than protecting our people, especially Florida’s children,” said Governor Crist. “I am grateful to the leaders of the Florida House and Senate for sharing my commitment to public safety. Thanks to their good work, Florida’s communities will be safer places to live, work and raise a family.”

Governor Crist was joined for the bill-signing ceremony by Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Attorney General Bill McCollum and bill sponsors Representatives Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), Charlie Dean (R-Inverness) and Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) and also by Representative Marti Coley (R-Marianna).

Protecting Florida’s Children

Legislation to strengthen Florida’s sentencing laws for sexual offenses include the following bills:

Senate Bill 988, High Risk Offenders – Serves as a follow-up to the Jessica Lunsford Act of 2005. The bill requires specified markings on driver licenses and identification cards for sexual offenders and predators. The bill improves the consistency with which Jessie’s Law is applied throughout the state by specifying the regulations for contractors allowed on school grounds.

Senate Bill 1004, Cyber Crime – Requires sexual offenders and sexual predators to register all e-mail addresses and instant-message names with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The bill enhances criminal penalties for offenders who misrepresent their age when soliciting children using the Internet and who travel to meet minors to commit crimes of sexual abuse. An offender can be arrested for attempting to meet a child even if the meeting never takes place.

“As Florida’s Attorney General, my highest priority is protecting our children from individuals who seek to victimize them in the worst ways imaginable,” said Attorney General McCollum. “As my CyberCrime Unit expands across the state, these new laws give us the ability to launch more investigations and build stronger cases for the prosecution of these online predators.”

Senate Bill 1604, Sexual Offenders and Predators – Incorporates changes to the registration criteria for sexual predators and offenders made through the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Florida was instrumental in drafting the federal legislation signed by President Bush last year.

“Florida has already lost too many children too early in their lives,” said Governor Crist. “Law enforcement officers can use these additional tools to prosecute those who seek to harm our children.”

Additionally, the 2007-08 budget includes funding to expand the Attorney General’s Child Predator/CyberCrime Unit, established by then-Attorney General Crist in August 2005 as a pilot project in response to several tragic murders of children in Florida. The unit will be expanded from 5 to 55 staff, which is expected to increase the number of sexual predators arrested and prosecuted from 30 per year to more than 200 per year.

[Tock]

At the rate they're going, it won't be long before all the Republicans have been arrested on "morals" charges . . .

[Amorphic]

Just shows the level of character running around on the floors of congress, modern day politics are a joke, 90% of all congressmen and senators are borderline criminals or closet offenders.

[Tock]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...l_tab01_layout

Allen: Remarks weren't racist
Embattled Brevard legislator tells NAACP he is sorry

Laurin Sellers
August 23, 2007

TITUSVILLE - State Rep. Bob Allen apologized to a handful of black residents Tuesday night, saying comments he made to police following his arrest on charges of soliciting prostitution were never meant to be racist.

"If there is one thing I hope, it's that you know that is not me," the embattled legislator said during a meeting of the North Brevard branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"I really do apologize if it sounded that way."

State Rep. Bob Allen insists he's innocent, will not quit
The group's local president, Bill Gary, and others in the audience shook Allen's hand and wished him well.

"I've known Bob for at least eight years and he has always supported our activities," Gary told the small gathering.

"Of all people, I was surprised when I saw that characterization in the paper."

In a taped statement after his July 11 arrest, Allen told police he was just playing along when he agreed to perform oral sex on an undercover officer in a park bathroom and pay him $20 because he was intimidated by the "stocky black guy."

Allen, who is white, also told police that there were other black guys in the Titusville park and that he feared he was "about to be a statistic."

The comments prompted some residents and civil-rights activists to label him a racist and demand his resignation.

Allen, R-Merritt Island, said Tuesday he made the statements while "under the gun to give a description" of what happened at Veterans Memorial Park.

He also noted that he had been described by police as a "heavy-set, disheveled white man."

He reiterated his desire to stay in office and fight the charges.

"I am an innocent man," he said.

Allen is expected to appear in court for the first time Monday, where his attorneys will argue that the charges should be dismissed and the legislator's taped statements suppressed.

[BgMc31]

Just shows the level of character running around on the floors of congress, modern day politics are a joke, 90% of all congressmen and senators are borderline criminals or closet offenders.

Politics have always been a joke, full of criminals and immoral individuals. Shit ain't changed in thousands of years brotha!!!

[scriptfactory]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...l_tab01_layout

Allen: Remarks weren't racist
Embattled Brevard legislator tells NAACP he is sorry

Laurin Sellers
August 23, 2007

TITUSVILLE - State Rep. Bob Allen apologized to a handful of black residents Tuesday night, saying comments he made to police following his arrest on charges of soliciting prostitution were never meant to be racist.

"If there is one thing I hope, it's that you know that is not me," the embattled legislator said during a meeting of the North Brevard branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"I really do apologize if it sounded that way."

State Rep. Bob Allen insists he's innocent, will not quit
The group's local president, Bill Gary, and others in the audience shook Allen's hand and wished him well.

"I've known Bob for at least eight years and he has always supported our activities," Gary told the small gathering.

"Of all people, I was surprised when I saw that characterization in the paper."

In a taped statement after his July 11 arrest, Allen told police he was just playing along when he agreed to perform oral sex on an undercover officer in a park bathroom and pay him $20 because he was intimidated by the "stocky black guy."

Allen, who is white, also told police that there were other black guys in the Titusville park and that he feared he was "about to be a statistic."

The comments prompted some residents and civil-rights activists to label him a racist and demand his resignation.

Allen, R-Merritt Island, said Tuesday he made the statements while "under the gun to give a description" of what happened at Veterans Memorial Park.

He also noted that he had been described by police as a "heavy-set, disheveled white man."

He reiterated his desire to stay in office and fight the charges.

"I am an innocent man," he said.

Allen is expected to appear in court for the first time Monday, where his attorneys will argue that the charges should be dismissed and the legislator's taped statements suppressed.

He was looking for a big black penis to suck so I'm pretty sure he isn't THAT racist! Just a little bit.