Fla. State Representative Accused Of Soliciting Sex In Men's Room
Police: Allen Offered To Perform Act For $20
POSTED: 5:08 pm EDT July 11, 2007
UPDATED: 9:23 am EDT July 12, 2007
local6.com
( Party affiliation? Yet another "family values" Republican, of course! )
TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Florida state Rep. Robert "Bob" Allen, R-Merritt Island, was arrested Wednesday and charged with soliciting an undercover male officer for sex at a park in Central Florida, according to police.
Investigators said Allen was acting suspicious and went in and out of the men's restroom at Veteran's Memorial Park, located on East Broad Street.
Minutes later, authorities said, Allen solicited the male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20.
Allen was then arrested.
Wednesday night, an attorney for Allen urged the public to remember the lawmaker's years of public service.
"The only comment we have to make is everyone is innocent until proven guilty," the attorney, who did not identify himself, said as he and Allen exited the Brevard County jail in Sharpes just before 10 p.m. Wednesday. "We would hope that everyone takes into consideration Mr. Allen's history of public service (and) that everyone is innocent until proven guilty."
Officers realized he was a public figure after the arrest, a news release said.
Allen, who is from Merritt Island, was booked into the Brevard County Jail Wednesday night.
He later posted $500 bond and was released from the jail.
Allen declined to make a comment in Sharpes but nodded slightly when asked by the assembled media if the incident was a mistake.
Allen, is a former Little League volunteer who also donated time to the Boys and Girls Club, serving on its board of directors.
The Merritt Island resident was born in 1958 and moved to Brevard County in 1964. He attended the University of Central Florida and Florida State University.
He has a wife and a child, according the official Web site of the Florida House of Representatives.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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