Florida Republican state Rep. Fabián Basabe, a self-proclaimed “family man,” has been found liable for sexually harassing two male staffers.

Former legislative aide Nicolas Frevola accused Basabe of sexual harassment and battery, including “slapping him on his rear and whispering in his ear ‘I want all of that butt’ while they were standing in the back of a classroom full of elementary school children, and sexually harassing him on multiple occasions,” his attorney Cindy Myers told Florida Politics.

Myers also said that Basabe sexually harassed his former intern Jacob Cutbirth on several occasions, including “groping and trying to kiss Mr. Cutbirth,” telling “Mr. Cutbirth to flirt with him more when Mr. Basabe was in the office, to act like ‘eye candy’ in front of members of the Miami Chamber of Commerce visiting Mr. Basabe’s office and asking him how big his genitals were, or encouraging him to break off his engagement with his wife to have sex with Mr. Basabe and other men for sport.”

Basabe has been married to Martina Borgomonero since 2005, but has come out as gay.

The Florida Commission on Ethics dismissed the ethics complaint brought by both victims in 2023, and a law firm hired by the GOP-controlled House that year to investigate the claims found no evidence of wrongdoing by Basabe.

Last week, a Tallahassee jury found Basabe liable for sexual harassment and defamation after two hours of deliberation and ordered him to pay a total of $450,000 in damages to his ex-staffers.

“Today, Mr. Basabe did not have his friends in the Florida House of Representatives helping him cover up the facts and the evidence,” Myers said after the verdict. “This jury weighed my clients’ credibility against Mr. Basabe’s, and the jury believed them, not Mr. Basabe.”

“Not only has Mr. Basabe lied about his actions, he called both of them liars and trashed them every opportunity he has had.” Myers added. “This is why we have courts of law in this country: so that the field is level and fair, for everyone.”

Basabe represented himself at trial and later told Florida Politics that was a mistake.

“I chose to defend myself because I am still naïve enough to believe that truth matters, that an ordinary citizen can stand in court, defend himself, and be judged on the facts. I believed representing myself was the right thing to do because I am innocent and because, before this civil trial, these allegations had already been the subject of four investigations and ethics proceedings that concluded without substantiating the misconduct alleged against me,” Basabe said.

“Looking back, representing myself was a mistake. I underestimated how different civil litigation is from what most people believe. It operates under different standards, different procedures, and different rules. That is the lesson I take from today” he continued. “This is a difficult time for me and my family, but their confidence in who I am has not changed. Neither has my determination. For now, I have no further comment on this matter.”

Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, called on Basabe to resign after the verdict.

“Representative Basabe’s behavior is disgusting, and I am disturbed that the Republican leadership in the House engaged in a cover-up to shield Representative Basabe from the consequences of his actions. Representative Basabe has no business holding public office for another day, he must resign immediately,” Fried said.

Basabe first won the election to represent Florida’s House District 106 in 2022 by less than a percentage point. He won re-election by 4 points in 2024 and is seeking another term despite promising his constituents that he would “resign on the spot” if any of the allegations against him proved to be true.