Allen pleads not
guilty to soliciting oral sex

Florida state representative Bob Allen pleaded not guilty Thursday to soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in a public park bathroom. The Brevard County representative said that he went to the bathroom on July 11 to avoid a lightning storm.

According to WKMG-TV, Allen claims he knocked on the door of a stall that an undercover cop had entered to see if he was OK. He then said he solicited the officer for oral sex because he was afraid of being robbed.

"This was a pretty stocky black guy, and there was nothing but other black guys around in the park," Allen said in a recorded statement to police after his arrest.

He also claimed that he was going to go to the Kennedy Space Center guard post to find help, but WKMG found that the nearest guard post from the restroom is eight miles away. (The Advocate)