(Miami, FL) - A Florida legislator seeking re-election is the target of a decades-old rape claim.
Los Angeles Police telling the Miami Herald that they are investigating a man’s claim that Florida legislator Fabian Basabe drugged and raped him in 2003. Speaking exclusively with WIOD, Basabe denies any and all allegations.
According to the Miami Herald, a man named "Michael" met Basabe at a nightclub in 2003. He alleges he went to an afterparty with him and was drugged and raped.
"That’s when Michael, then 24, says the night took a sudden dark turn. Basabe, he said, made him a drink that caused him to become sick. Shortly after that, he said, Basabe sexually assaulted him on a couch as Michael went in and out of consciousness and was barely able to fight back."
Basabe was elected to the Florida House in 2022, a Republican representing a district that includes Miami Beach and northeast Miami-Dade County. The House has investigted two other claims of sexual harassment of an aide and a former intern. Neither investigation found Basabe guilty of wrongdoing.
Statement from Basabe's attorney, Gus Harper:
“As a third-generation attorney, it pains me to witness the unfortunate evolution unfolding within the practice of law and jurisprudence. Gone are the days in which individuals were afforded protections from 20-year-old, unproven, and unsubstantiated allegations. Gone are the days in which truth, veracity, and due process served to form the basis of public opinion and proof. Gone are the days in which actual proof of guilt is required, and gone are the days in which a court of law decides truth from fiction.
In these unfortunate times, the court of public opinion decides guilt versus innocence, and this particular court is extremely quick to convict. For reasons unknown, the public no longer seems to require actual evidence or proof to so convict. Allegations have become absolute truths, and evidence and proof has been replaced with attention-grabbing headlines and salacious allegations.
This phenomenon has not gone unnoticed. Certain savvy individuals, both private citizens and attorney alike, have found a way to weaponize and monetize the passing of time. Proving (or disproving) something that allegedly occurred more than 20 years presents a number of inherent difficulties. Witnesses move and pass away, people change, and memories fade. Fortunately, however, the truth never does. The truth does not change with the passing of time. That which was true 20 years ago remains true today.
The truth is that Representative Fabian Basabe has never sexually battered anyone and never would. These allegations are intended to leverage some benefit out of Mr. Basabe and to otherwise frustrate the outcome of his upcoming election. Representative Basabe looks forward to clearing his name and in a court of law at the appropriate time.”