VIERA, Fla. -- A jury on Friday convicted state Rep. Bob Allen of soliciting prostitution from an undercover male officer in July.
"I am innocent and I've done nothing wrong," Allen said following the reading of the verdict. "My family, my God and my good constituents know that and we are not going to stop until we get that justice."
Allen faces up to 60 days in county jail and a $500 fine for the second-degree misdemeanor. The Merritt Island Republican was accused of peering over a stall in a men's public park restroom, then agreeing to pay $20 to perform oral sex on Titusville police Officer Danny Kavanaugh.
The jury deliberated three hours and 20 minutes. After jurors filed out, Allen reached back into the gallery to touch his wife's hand. She sat behind him Friday, as she had all week.
Defense attorney Greg Eisenmenger argued Allen thought he was being robbed, so he went along with whatever Kavanaugh said until he could flee.
Even if he was soliciting sex, Eisenmenger told the jury, Allen was not guilty because it was the officer who first mentioned money.
Allen actually co-sponsored a bill months before his arrest that would have increased public sex charges from a misdemeanor to a felony. The proposed bill addressed "unnatural and lascivious acts or exposure or exhibition of sexual organs" within 1,000 feet of a park, school or child care facility.
The trial stretched longer than expected, with jury selection requiring two days because of heavy publicity. Eisenmenger succeeded in barring two statements that received some of the broadest coverage: Allen's concern about getting robbed by a "stocky black man," who turned out to be Kavanaugh, and an apparent try to sway the arrest by saying he was a legislator.
Kavanaugh and another undercover policemen were surveilling a nearby condo for burglars when they allegedly saw Allen stare at them and enter the restroom several times. Kavanaugh got a supervisor's approval to investigate, but was not recording the exchange because he wasn't planning a prostitution sting.
Kavanaugh, fit and young, said the seven-year state house veteran peeked into the handicapped stall when he entered for a paper towel, then went inside to join the officer.
He said Allen asked to go somewhere private, then testified telling the defendant: "I'm looking to get some money. Can you hook me up with $20?"
"Sure, I can do that. But this place is too public," Allen allegedly said.
Allen's defense said he couldn't have looked into the stall and made eye contact with Kavanaugh because he wasn't tall enough to see past the 5'7" stall door. Kavanaugh is 6-foot; Allen is listed in police documents at 5-foot-11.
The jury on Thursday traveled by van to see the park bathroom -- a rank place with drab concrete walls and a big, secluded handicapped stall in the rear.
Allen stopped as he and Kavanaugh left the restroom and asked if he was a police officer, then motioned to follow, prosecutor Pat Whitaker said.
"If I was a cop, why would I be hanging around here?" Kavanaugh testified saying. "Well they come here too sometimes," he said Allen responded.
As they neared the car, Kavanaugh said he asked what Allen wanted him to do. According to Kavanaugh's testimony, the discourse went as follows:
"I don't know what you're into," Allen said.
Kavanaugh asked if Allen wanted oral sex.
"I was thinking you would want one," Allen said.
"But you'll still give me the $20 for that, right?" Kavanaugh said.
"I would not argue with that," Allen answered.
Allen was elected to the Florida House in 2000. He was chairman of the House Committee on Energy and a Florida co-chair for U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.
Allen's arrest came a month after U.S. Sen. Larry Craig was arrested on charges of soliciting sex in a men's airport bathroom in Minneapolis.
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Previous Stories: - November 9, 2007: Allen Acquittal Request Denied By Judge
- November 9, 2007: Jury Visits Park, Restroom In Allen Case
- November 8, 2007: Allen Defense Questions Police Tactics
- November 7, 2007: Web Post Raises Question Of Jury Bias In Trial Of State Rep. Bob Allen
- November 7, 2007: Attorneys: Rep. Allen Feared Being Robbed
- November 6, 2007: Jury Seated In Allen Sex Case
- November 5, 2007: Jury Selection Begins In Allen Sex Case
- November 5, 2007: Allen Attorney Concerned About Jury
- October 30, 2007: Judge Tosses Allen's 'Legislator' Remark
- October 12, 2007: Rep. Allen's Sex Case Back To Nov. 5 Start
- October 12, 2007: Jury Selection To Begin In Allen's Sex Case
- October 5, 2007: Evidence Tossed In Rep. Allen's Sex Case
- September 18, 2007: Rep. Allen's Trial On Sex Charge Delayed
- August 31, 2007: Judge Won't Toss Allen's Statement In Sex Case
- August 27, 2007: Rep. Allen's Solicitation Trial Date Set
- August 27, 2007: Rep. Allen Unlikely To Testify At Hearing
- August 23, 2007: Rep. Allen Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Charge
- August 22, 2007: Allen Says He Sought Security Of KSC Guard
- August 22, 2007: Rep. Allen Disputes Allegations Of Racism
- August 2, 2007: Documents Shed Light On Allen Sex Charges
- July 31, 2007: State Rep. Bob Allen Sends E-Mail To House Members
- July 17, 2007: Hearing For State Rep's Sex Charge Set
- July 13, 2007: Fla. State Representative Accused Of Soliciting Sex In Men's Room
- July 13, 2007: Allen Says He's Not Guilty, Won't Resign In Men's Room Sex Case
- July 12, 2007: State Rep. To Address Sex Allegations
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