Portland, Oregon, Mayor Sam Adams Admits to Having Sex with a Teenage Aide

For over a year, Sam Adams had denied ever having a sexual relationship with Beau Breedlove. Sam Adams said in the statement on his website that Beau Breedlove was 18 when the sexual relationship began. Sam Adam said now, "I lied at the time because I was afraid that people would believe untrue rumors, being circulated by an undeclared mayoral opponent, that I had broken a law involving sexual relations with a minor."

The Mayor also admitted to asking Beau Breedlove to lie for him when the allegations first surfaced. The Portland Tribune reports that Sam Adams first met Beau Breedlove when Breedlove was a 17-year-old aide at the Oregon Legislature. Sam Adams has been open about being gay.

This isn't the first time a politician has been accused of acting inappropriately with a younger aide.

Florida Representative Mark Foley was forced to resign in 2006 after reports surfaced about him sending sexual explicit text messages to a 16-year-old page. In Mark Foley's resignation letter he wrote, "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent."

I was living in Palm Beach County, Florida, in 2006 when the news of the Mark Foley scandal broke. Many Palm Beach County residents where shocked to learn about the inappropriate contact. Mark Foley entered Sierra Tucson rehab center shortly after he resigned. Mark Foley admitted he had problems with alcoholism.

He spent 30 days in treatment at the rehab center. While in rehab, Mark Foley made allegations that he had be sexual abused by a Catholic priest when he was younger. In the Herald Tribune report, the Catholic priest, Anthony Mercieca, admitted to sexually inappropriate contact with Mark Foley.

Mark Foley was never criminally charged for his inappropriate contact with the 16-year-old boy. The Florida state's attorney never had enough evidence to have Mark Foley criminally charged.

No one expects Portland Mayor Sam Adams to resign from office. Sam Adams had a sexual relationship with Beau Breedlove when he was 18 years old. The relationship may be considered tacky but, not illegal.

Sources

http://www.portlandonline.com/mayor/

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=123241686008807100&loc=interstitialskip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901574.html

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1541606,00.html

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/26/m1a_FOLEY_MAIN_1026.html

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS/610190725

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/us/20foley.html

http://www.wptv.com/content/foley/story/FDLE-No-criminal-charges-for-Mark-Foley/gGIJyOOXtEmgzY5pMSMPtg.cspx