Icky.
Posted on 03/12/2010 8:05:09 AM PST by Colofornian
SALT LAKE CITY — House Majority Leader Kevin Garn admitted as the Legislature adjourned Thursday night to a nude hot tubbing incident with a teenage girl 25 years ago.
In a tearful statement in a packed House chambers, Garn said the mistake has "now come back to haunt me" as the woman has gone public with the story. The Layton Republican said he entered into a confidentiality agreement with the woman in 2002 and paid her $150,000.
"I was 28 years old and I foolishly went hot-tubbing with a young woman nearly half my age. Although we did not have any sexual contact..." Garn said...
SNIP
The Deseret News learned of the allegations against Garn just before the GOP primary election in 2002. Garn sat down and spoke about the incident with Deseret News reporters and editors.
At the time, Garn and now-U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, were in a tight primary race seeking the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District and Garn was the Utah House majority leader, a position he has, again, achieved.
Deseret News editors decided not to run a story about the indiscretion at that time, since the GOP primary was only weeks away and the incident had occurred years before.
The editors decided to wait to see if Garn advanced in the primary before deciding to publish a story or not.
Because Garn lost that primary, and so was also retiring from the Utah House, the newspaper never published a story.
SNIP
Since the Deseret News believed that the woman had signed a legal agreement not to speak about the matter again, it did not pursue the story, in part because it had happened so long ago when Garn was in his 20s.
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
Hmm...I guess this newspaper owned by the Mormon church wants to explain why they've kept silent on a 15 yo hot-tubbing naked with an eventual legislator for these past eight years. (They're certainly falling all over themselves trying to explain that...but something I just don't understand...if they didn't go public with it because Garn was then "in his 20s" -- why would that make it irrelevant -- re: their consideration to publish or NOT publish -- that the girl was in her mid-teens?)
In his defense, I don’t see an indication that they went beyond hottubbing together. Still, naked with a 15 y/o when he was 28? Gross. He might want to “spend more time with his family”.
If I were him, I wouldn’t be tearfully apologizing. I’d be coldly saying “Yes, I did it and I paid her to keep her mouth shut. Now I want my money back.”
He was in his 20s and the girl was “nearly” half his age? Yikes! Anyway you do the math it stinks.
Icky.
You are so right.
ok. this guy is on the house ethics committee as well as the joint appropriations subcommittee on public education. he belongs to the party that never ceases to trumpet its devotion to "family values."
15 should get you 20.
Perhaps the Prophet, Warren Jeffs, can offer some advice on proper conduct with minors. It will be also be fun to watch his political and religious peers drop him like a hot potato when the former "president of the LDS young woman's group" gives her side of the story. No wonder Utah is the laughing stock of this country! Hypocrisy is alive and well, while Life remains Elevated (along with other unmentionables) in this purdy great theocracy.
For these & other comments, see: Tribtowns
Well at the time it was a dream come true I’m sure
Then again, there might be more to this than he is admitting.
And if it happened with an Episcopalian legislator in Connecticut rather than a Mormon legislator in Utah, you wouldn't even be posting it.
Typical liberal mantra -- anyone who promotes family values is a hypocrite because 100% of them are not 100% perfect 100% of the time.
He should have kept his mouth shut and wallet closed.
At least it was a girl, not a boy.
A 28 year old guy. Naked in a hot tub with a naked female (let’s ignore the age of the girl for just a moment).
No sexual contact?
Gentleman on this thread .... does that not stretch the boundaries of believablity beyond its ability to return to its former shape?
Let’s see. No sexual contact. Does he mean while they were in the hot tub? Or is he using the Bill Clinton definition of sex?
Sorry. Except for the skinny dipping in the river with a dozen or so after my sister’s wedding (she and her hubby not involved), I’m pretty sure that I have had sexual contact with every female with whom I have been naked with. It’s kind of the point of getting naked together.
OK. Now factor the age back in. And the payoff. He would not want me on his jury.
Roman Polanski, anyone?
Exactly. And I’m sure she attempted to extort more money before she started blabbing, and would have been happy to keep her mouth shut if she’d gotten another big wad of cash. Next she’ll be selling her story to the tabloids.
You don’t pay $150,000 to a girl who got in the hot tub naked and sat on the other side while you discussed the weather.
Big deal. If it wasn’t sexual, it wasn’t sexual. Move along.
Apparently, in addition to the rest of his problems, he’s bad at math. 15 > 14 last I checked and “nearly” doesn’t mean “over”.
At least it was a girl, not a boy.
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theDentist has no daughters. Having 2, I would not have uttered the comment above.
What? You think it's A-OK for married men to get naked with 15 yo employees in hot tubs? And then pay to cover it up?
Here was a comment from a Salt Lake Trib reader online: Amazing how many of the posters on this thread seem to have no problem with a 30 year old man having a relationship with a 15 year old girl. They are probably some of the same ones who say there is no connection between legit Mormons and the Colorado City polygs.
Correct, I don’t. Were she any of my nieces, however, I’d hunt him down and give him the most caustic beating of his life.
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