Bob Allen Insists He's Innocent Of Blow Job

FLORIDA - 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, a Florida co-chairman of U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, 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.
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, authorities said. He was later released after posting $500 bail.
Titusville Officer Danny Kavanaugh, 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 about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
In an arrest affidavit, Kavanaugh said he had washed his hands and, finding the sink's paper-towel dispenser empty, had walked into a stall for the disabled 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, R-Melbourne, said 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.
from The South Florida Sun-Sentinel