Former Rep. David Stringer defends himself in Facebook post
Mar 31, 2019, 10:03 AM | Updated: Apr 1, 2019, 2:14 pm
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Former Arizona Rep. David Stringer went to Facebook to defend himself against the release of court documents that charged he solicited sex to children under the age of 16 in Maryland in 1983.
A lengthy post on the politician’s Facebook page was submitted at 2:56 a.m. on Saturday outlining how the charges had “no basis in fact” and explains why he decided to take a plea deal.
The post has since been deleted.
He stated that he took the deal to maintain his innocence and preserve “losing everything I had and everything I imagined I might ever have.”
The early morning post also stated that the politician would continue to fight for “freedom and our democratic way of life.”
Stringer resigned from his position as District 1 Representative in the Arizona House on Wednesday as he faced a deadline to turn over the documents demanded by the House Ethics Committee.
According a Baltimore Police Department report obtained by ABC15, Stringer paid boys younger than 15, one of whom had a mental disability, to perform sex acts and allegedly molested the boys more than 10 times.
ABC15 reported that Stringer pleaded to lesser charges and was sentenced to five years of probation and 1,040 hours of community service. The case was ultimately expunged.
The embattled politician was called to resign by Gov. Doug Ducey in June over racially insensitive comments.
The Governor was happy Stringer made the decision to resign on Wednesday but was shocked by the new allegations revealed in the report tweeting that the charges were “disgusting and deeply disturbing.”