PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Senator Files Complaint Against Latvala

Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater
Facebook
Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater

A Florida senator filed a complaint against a colleague, saying he is intimidating a woman who accused him of groping.

Democratic Sen. Lauren Book filed her complaint with the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, saying Republican Sen. Jack Latvala made a deliberate effort to out his accuser, Rachel Perrin Rogers. Rogers is an aide to Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson.

Rogers is the first woman to go public with allegations against Latvala. Five others anonymously made similar claims about Latvala to Politico Florida.

Latvala says the allegations aren't true and called Book's complaint "guerrilla warfare" in an effort to keep the controversy alive.

He said he hasn't seen the complaint, but the only thing he's guilty of is defending himself. He also said Book violated Senate rules by making her complaint public before it could be reviewed.

Copyright 2020 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. To see more, visit .