And the Sex Scandals Keep on Coming!

[3113]

Of course, he says there wasn't any sex just innocent splashing about in the hot tub. She says there was some kind of hanky-panky but won't elaborate. So maybe it's just a "scandal" rather than sex scandal....

[Utah's]House Majority Leader Kevin Garn announced Saturday that he was resigning from the Utah Legislature, two days after revelations of a nude hot-tubbing incident with a minor 25 years ago and a payment to keep it quiet. "After discussing this matter with my family, I have decided that it is in the best interests of them, my colleagues and the people of Utah," Garn said in his letter of resignation...He follows his Senate colleague, former Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, who resigned his Senate seat in December after an arrest for drunk driving.

...Garn admitted that the two had sat nude in a hot tub in Salt Lake City. He insisted there was no sexual contact, but admitted that it was wrong. Maher insists there was touching and physical contact, but will not elaborate. In 2002, when Garn was running for U.S. Congress, she began contacting reporters and Garn arranged to pay her $150,000 provided she sign an agreement not to go public with the incident. She signed a non-disclosure agreement and he paid her the money in 2003, well after he had lost the Republican congressional primary.

But last week, Maher began sending e-mails to legislators and reporters laying out her allegations. In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune , Garn admitted her story was essentially true and in an emotional statement from the floor of the House after it had adjourned Thursday night, with his wife by his side, asked for forgiveness. "I expect to suffer public humiliation and embarrassment, but I also want you to know that I cannot allow one foolish mistake to continue to shadow my life," he said. "At this point, I would rather be open and honest about this than continue to live in fear. Some lessons are hard to learn. This is something I should have done back in 2002. But I was scared. I did not want to be publicly judged by one of my life's worst decisions."

His statement drew a standing ovation from his House colleagues, many of whom lined up to console Garn and his wife.

Okay, Children, take note of the lessons to be learned from this:
(1) Paying someone to keep quiet never works.
(2) Nude splashing around with an underage girl is not good for your political career but--
(3) It's only a bad decision in the end. No one will think anything of it, and in fact will give you a standing ovation and offer prayers for you and your family if....
(4) You humbly apologize with loving wife at your side.

Special note: All bets are off if you do this with an underage boy. For some reason, that's not as forgivable as doing it with an underage girl. Go figure.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Well, underaged girls are every Mormon man's dream anyway. Even if they are officially verboten.

 

[Guest]

If she signed a non-disclsure agreement and then came forward, does he get his money back?

He might need it to pay for his divorce (you know that he is going to get divorced after his political career finishes burning)

 

[sr71plt]

Twenty-five years ago. Even time elapsed can't be counted on anymore.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Twenty-five years ago? And she's still after him? How come charges for blackmail haven't been filed? What is Utah, a cesspool of criminal leniency?

 

[Boxlicker101]

Of course, he says there wasn't any sex just innocent splashing about in the hot tub. She says there was some kind of hanky-panky but won't elaborate. So maybe it's just a "scandal" rather than sex scandal....


Okay, Children, take note of the lessons to be learned from this:
(1) Paying someone to keep quiet never works.
(2) Nude splashing around with an underage girl is not good for your political career but--
(3) It's only a bad decision in the end. No one will think anything of it, and in fact will give you a standing ovation and offer prayers for you and your family if....
(4) You humbly apologize with loving wife at your side.

Special note: All bets are off if you do this with an underage boy. For some reason, that's not as forgivable as doing it with an underage girl. Go figure.

Actually, they aren't all that unforgiving even if it is an underage boy. Gerry Studds was returned to office several times after admitting an affair with a 17 year old page boy. Barney Franks was also returned to office after the man he was shacking up with was found to be running a prostitution ring out of their apartment.

 

[Guest]

Twenty-five years ago? And she's still after him? How come charges for blackmail haven't been filed? What is Utah, a cesspool of criminal leniency?

Utah is a cesspool for a lot of things. But no more so than Los Angeles, New Orleans, NYC, or anywhere else. Personally, I think that if she was underage and naked in a hot tub, the senator should sue her parents for allowing her to be in that position anyway. You should know where your children are and what they are doing.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Utah is a cesspool for a lot of things. But no more so than Los Angeles, New Orleans, NYC, or anywhere else. Personally, I think that if she was underage and naked in a hot tub, the senator should sue her parents for allowing her to be in that position anyway. You should know where your children are and what they are doing.

Now that's an approach I can get behind. If the kid gets someone in trouble, it's the parents' fault. Damned straight! Same thing if they don't do their homework.

 

[Guest]

Now that's an approach I can get behind. If the kid gets someone in trouble, it's the parents' fault. Damned straight! Same thing if they don't do their homework.

I am a big fan of taking responsibility for your actions, and if you are responsible for the welfare of another (as a parent or a military leader, or certain capacities in positions of public trust i.e.: teachers, police, etc), then you take responsibility for the people under your care.

Teachers are responsible for the conduct of children during school hours (within reason), police are responsible for the conduct of people that they have in custody, and parents are damn well overall responsible for the conduct of children until the age of majority.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Well, underaged girls are every Mormon man's dream anyway. Even if they are officially verboten.

I'm not sure she was underage at the time. (She would be now but this was 25 years ago) See this article from Time.http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1665547,00.html#ixzz0i4mQSila

 

[3113]

I'm not sure she was underage at the time. (She would be now but this was 25 years ago)

Is that right?

The incident leading to Garn's downfall came to light in the last days of the 2010 legislative session in which he acknowledged inappropriate behavior with Cheryl Maher in 1985, who at the time was 15 and working for Garn, who was 30.

From here.
I dunno. 15 doesn't sound like legal age to me, but maybe it's different in Utah. I mean, frankly, if she wasn't a minor, if she was perfectly legal at the time, then why'd he pay her off to keep quiet--in 2002, nearly 20 years after the fact!? At best, all she'd be able to say is, "I was legal, he was legal, we splashed about naked in a hot tub nearly two decades ago..." (Was he even married?).

I'm sorry, Box, but that's a big "So what?" on the scandal meter. Hardly enough to make someone resign, EVEN if they were cheating on their wife. I mean we're not even talking a long-running affair with trips to Brazil here. If she was legal 25 years ago when they fooled around, this would be nothing--it might or might not get reported, but it would hardly induce the senate to say, "We don't condone this..!" and make this guy resign. It certainly wouldn't be something he'd label one of the "worst" decisions of his life.

I know you're all gung-ho about proving these guys innocent unless there's irrefutable evidence on video tape, Box, but even people running for public office don't pay women $150K merely to keep them quiet about a fun in a hot tub 20 years ago. Either she was a minor, or they did something really kinky in that tub.

 

[3113]

Twenty-five years ago. Even time elapsed can't be counted on anymore.

*Sigh* I know. Back in the good old days you could count on the fact that if a scandal hadn't surfaced in ten years, it was never going to surface. But these days, they just keep rising on up no matter how far back they go. Can't keep the damn things down. And I just can't get over the fact that hush money isn't reliable any more either.

What is this country coming to?

 

[Dragonlipz]

Utah is a cesspool for a lot of things. But no more so than Los Angeles, New Orleans, NYC, or anywhere else. Personally, I think that if she was underage and naked in a hot tub, the senator should sue her parents for allowing her to be in that position anyway. You should know where your children are and what they are doing.

Sorry SGT: you shouldn't be in a compromising position with ANYONE, much less an underage individual of the opposite sex whose presence should be a red flag anyway....So get over yourself and learn to think straight.....Turn off Glenn Beck....If you're really a Sgt then you're smarter than him...he never served......think about that.....

 

[Dragonlipz]

I'm not sure she was underage at the time. (She would be now but this was 25 years ago) See this article from Time.http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1665547,00.html#ixzz0i4mQSila

Jeez, do you just look for an excuse to exonerate pedophiles? That is truly sick and not justifiable.....but that's you....go wit watcha no.....an u doan no much.....

 

[Dragonlipz]

Well, underaged girls are every Mormon man's dream anyway. Even if they are officially verboten.

It has something to do with the 72 virgins promised in the 'Book of Mormon' or is that the 'Pedophilia Handbook?'

 

[Guest]

Sorry SGT: you shouldn't be in a compromising position with ANYONE, much less an underage individual of the opposite sex whose presence should be a red flag anyway....So get over yourself and learn to think straight.....Turn off Glenn Beck....If you're really a Sgt then you're smarter than him...he never served......think about that.....

I never said that HE should be in a compromising position with anyone. Ever.

HOWEVER, my point was that her parents should have known where she was and what she was doing. As parents, they were legally accountable for her actions that night because the law says that she wasn't of sufficient emotional or physical maturity to make sdecisions like that for herself. He is (and was at the time) old enough to be held accountable for his actions by the public and the voters. I never defended him at any time. I just brought up another facet of the conversation.

You can find a continuation of the conversation here where I talk about taking responsibility for the actions of those in your care (parents and children).


And who the hell are you to tell me to get overmyself? It's clear from your posting that you never understood my opinion in the first place. And as someone who stays away from television in almost all forms, who the fuck is Glenn Beck? If you don't actually understand my position on something, who are you to compare my views to his?

Lastly, who are you to question whether I am a SGT or not? Do you want to see photos of me in Korea? Afghanistan? Fort Drum? Fort Irwin? Fort Polk? Bosnia? Let me know. I'll send them. Give me a few minutes to black out my SSN, and I will send you my NCOERs and my ERB. I can provide ample proof of my status as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Army.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Is that right?

From here.
I dunno. 15 doesn't sound like legal age to me, but maybe it's different in Utah. I mean, frankly, if she wasn't a minor, if she was perfectly legal at the time, then why'd he pay her off to keep quiet--in 2002, nearly 20 years after the fact!? At best, all she'd be able to say is, "I was legal, he was legal, we splashed about naked in a hot tub nearly two decades ago..." (Was he even married?).

I'm sorry, Box, but that's a big "So what?" on the scandal meter. Hardly enough to make someone resign, EVEN if they were cheating on their wife. I mean we're not even talking a long-running affair with trips to Brazil here. If she was legal 25 years ago when they fooled around, this would be nothing--it might or might not get reported, but it would hardly induce the senate to say, "We don't condone this..!" and make this guy resign. It certainly wouldn't be something he'd label one of the "worst" decisions of his life.

I know you're all gung-ho about proving these guys innocent unless there's irrefutable evidence on video tape, Box, but even people running for public office don't pay women $150K merely to keep them quiet about a fun in a hot tub 20 years ago. Either she was a minor, or they did something really kinky in that tub.

I based my comment on this part of the Times article:

In January, Gale represented a Brigham, Utah, man, who, though a bigamist, was facing four first-degree felony counts for rape of his young wife. (Utah recently raised the age of consent from 14 to 16 and it is illegal for a person of authority or trust to have sex with anyone under 18.) Gayle's client took a plea agreement, but still was punished with significant prison time, far greater than any he would have received for violating bigamy statutes.

I don't know what was meant by "recently" but I would assume they meant not as long ago as twenty some years. In ogher words, the girl was of legal age in 1985, although the "Person of authority" might have made that moot. In lother words, he was innocent, because no law was broken.

However, he obviously wanted to hush it up when he was running for higher office. Sex, or even being in a compromising situation with a young girl is not something you want the voters to know about. I know it's not even close to being enough to make a guy resign from office, but maybe this guy has more integrity than most.

 

[Stella_Omega]

You might be right, box. And the senator knows damn well that the public does not care about what the legalities were back then-- child abuse is the worst possible sin (second only to wanting to marry a member of your own sex) in the public mind. it doesn't matter how long ago it happened, when the news breaks, the public reacts as if it were now.

 

[Boxlicker101]

You might be right, box. And the senator knows damn well that the public does not care about what the legalities were back then-- child abuse is the worst possible sin (second only to wanting to marry a member of your own sex) in the public mind. it doesn't matter how long ago it happened, when the news breaks, the public reacts as if it were now.

In some districts, marrying a member of one's own gender would be of no consequence. Certainly Nancy Pelosi's district would be one of those and there are probably more. Of course, the man here is from Utah, and a member of that state legislature who was running for Congress.

Personally, if I were faced with a candidate who said he had a nude 18 year old (The age of consent in CA) hotty in a hot tub but never touched her, I would wonder what was wrong with him and vote against him on the basis of his stupidity or because he was lying. All pols lie, of course, but at least they should tell plausible lies.

 

[Huckleman2000]

[...]Personally, if I were faced with a candidate who said he had a nude 18 year old (The age of consent in CA) hotty in a hot tub but never touched her, I would wonder what was wrong with him and vote against him on the basis of his stupidity or because he was lying. All pols lie, of course, but at least they should tell plausible lies.

You know, Box, simply being nude in a hot tub is not an invitation to start groping. Of course, you're the type that thinks every man wants to get in line for a gang bang, too.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxlicker101
[...]Personally, if I were faced with a candidate who said he had a nude 18 year old (The age of consent in CA) hotty in a hot tub but never touched her, I would wonder what was wrong with him and vote against him on the basis of his stupidity or because he was lying. All pols lie, of course, but at least they should tell plausible lies.

You know, Box, simply being nude in a hot tub is not an invitation to start groping. Of course, you're the type that thinks every man wants to get in line for a gang bang, too.

What is that about a gangbang? There were just the two of them.

When I was thirty years old, if a nubile female over the age of consent had gone with me, by herself, to a public hot tob, stripped off her clothing and gotten into the water with me, I would have taken that as sexual consent, and would have had some kind of intercourse with her.

Had we been among a group of people in the hot tub, that might well have been another matter. It would have depended on her.

 

[Handley_Page]

Quote:
(Utah recently raised the age of consent from 14 to 16 and it is illegal for a person of authority or trust to have sex with anyone under 18.)

Is it just me or is there something strange about that?. Or is there a difference between "anyone" and an adult deemed to be "in authority or a position of trust"
Does this imply that a 17 year-old husband is NOT such a person ?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Quote:
(Utah recently raised the age of consent from 14 to 16 and it is illegal for a person of authority or trust to have sex with anyone under 18.)

Is it just me or is there something strange about that?. Or is there a difference between "anyone" and an adult deemed to be "in authority or a position of trust"
Does this imply that a 17 year-old husband is NOT such a person ?

Please, HP, do not expect any of us to explain or even to understand the statutes of Utah.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Well, underaged girls are every Mormon man's dream anyway. Even if they are officially verboten.

Every Morman male and many of the teachers around here; we caught a few more randy teachers lately.