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Lawmaker's Solicitation Trial Begins

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The Associated Press

Published: November 8, 2007

VIERA - State Rep. Bob Allen peered over a stall in a public park restroom to show his interest in soliciting sex from an undercover police officer, a prosecutor said in opening arguments in the lawmaker's trial Wednesday in Brevard County Court.

Allen sat emotionless as prosecutor Pat Whitaker described how the lawmaker eventually followed the male officer into the same stall, where Allen said the restroom was too public of a place. The lawmaker suggested "across the bridge," saying, "It's quiet over there," and then agreed to pay $20 for oral sex, Whitaker said.

"You're not a cop, are you?" Allen asked the officer, according to Whitaker.
Defense attorney Greg Eisenmenger later countered that Allen never solicited sex and that it was the officer who asked for $20 in exchange for oral sex.

The Republican lawmaker faces a second-degree misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution. The charge carries a maximum 60 days in county jail and a $500 fine. Allen pleaded not guilty after being arrested at Titusville's Veterans Memorial Park in July.

Testimony was scheduled to resume today.

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