Rep. Fabián Basabe, a Republican who represents a Miami Beach district in the Florida House of Representatives, was hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit on Thursday. Nicolas Frevola, a former legislative aide in Basabe's office, and Jacob Cutbirth, a former intern, accuse Basabe of soliciting them for sexual acts and subjecting them to graphic conversations about sex.
According to the lawsuit, Basabe stood in the back of an elementary school classroom full of children and whispered to Frevola, "I want all of that butt," before allegedly smacking Frevola's backside. Cutbirth, for his part, claims Basabe "began to physically touch and grope him and to grab at him to try to kiss him." The allegations are included in a lawsuit filed in Leon County Circuit Court by Frevola and Cutbirth, which coincides with a "joint investigation" of Basabe's conduct by CBS News Miami and the Miami Herald.
Basabe was investigated earlier this year by the Florida House for allegedly slapping Frevola in a different incident, which an outside law firm was unable to corroborate. After that inconclusive report was issued in June, Basabe described Frevola as "lazy, entitled, unscrupulous, self-involved, ungrateful, lying scum." Basabe has denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney told CBS News Miami that the lawmaker "will not be litigating this frivolous and meritless lawsuit in the media or giving it any more public attention than it deserves — which is none."
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