Florida

Lawsuit claims Florida lawmaker Rep. Fabian Basabe sexually harassed aide and intern

The 21-page lawsuit details sexually explicit comments allegedly made by Republican Rep. Fabian Basabe and instances when the plaintiffs claim he touched them without their consent.

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Florida Rep. Fabian Basabe is facing a lawsuit by a former aide and intern who have accused him of sexual harassment, NBC6’s Lorena Inclan reports.

A Florida lawmaker was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed Thursday by a former aide and a former intern.

The 21-page lawsuit details sexually explicit comments allegedly made by Republican Rep. Fabian Basabe and instances when the plaintiffs claim he touched them without their consent. The former aide’s mother is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, claiming she was defamed by the representative after she came to her son’s defense.

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It starts with details about an evening in December 2022 when one plaintiff, intern Jacob Cutbirth, was asked to drive Basabe because Basabe had been drinking. Cutbirth claims that while he was driving, Basabe began to touch and grope him and tried to kiss him.

Then later that same month, Basabe’s aide Nicolas Frevola said they were at a career day event at North Beach Elementary School when Basabe slapped his behind and said "I want all of that butt."

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The lawsuit also repeats a claim that Basabe slapped Frevola across the face while at a social gathering back in January. That allegation led to an investigation by an outside law firm that concluded late last month that there was “physical contact between the two" but a lack of corroborating witnesses led to a finding of “inconclusive."

The two staffers also said Basabe repeatedly talked about sex with them and showed them a photo of a naked man on his phone.

Basabe took to Twitter last month making negative statements about his former aide and his mother, who worked part-time in the legislature, after she accompanied her son to report it to human resources.

"(The aide and his mother) as you might imagine, are very upset and hurt that a state representative with a lot of power and authority and a big following sent out this information not only on his state representative Twitter account, his official account, but he also sent the same statements to members of the media," said attorney Cindy Myers, who represents the plaintiffs.

Myers also alleged there are more victims.

"It's not just Nick Frevola and Jacob Cutbirth who are victims here, there are other victims, and we are really hopeful that this time the full story is going to be investigated and fully and fairly reported to the leadership in the House," Myers said.

Republican House Speaker Paul Renner’s office acknowledged receiving a sexual harassment complaint about Basabe and said that an outside lawyer will investigate the claims.

“The Florida House has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment,” Renner’s office said in an emailed statement. “Every employee of the Florida House is provided a copy of the administrative policy manual which outlines how to report allegations of sexual harassment with Florida House staff and leadership.”

Basabes attorney, Robert Fernandez, said in a statement to NBC6 that the lawsuit is "frivolous and meritless."

“We are currently reviewing the complaint that was just filed. Rep. Basabe 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," he said. "Rep. Basabe looks forward to defending himself in court and we believe he will be fully vindicated once these allegations are scrutinized under the rule of law. In the meantime, Rep. Basabe will continue to focus on the issues important to the citizens of Florida.”

NBC6 and Associated Press
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