Anti-gay Republican admits making hotel arrangement with teenager, but will not resign

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Phillip Hinkle, the 64-year-old Republican lawmaker, admits he met with 18-year-old Kameryn Gibson at a hotel in the hope of having “a good time”.

Reports of the encounter emerged two weeks ago, after Gibson had posted an advert on website Craigslist, looking for a “sugga daddy”.

Mr Hinkle responded with offers “to make it worth [your] while” in cash, and added: “I am an in shape married professional, 5’8″, fit 170 lbs, and love getting and staying naked.”

He said he could not be a permanent sugar daddy but could offer him $80 for the evening, or $140 if it were “a really good time”.

When they met at the JW Marriott hotel, Gibson claims to have changed his mind about the encounter, but says Hinkle tried to keep him from leaving, exposed himself and offering him $100 cash, an iPad and a Blackberry to keep quiet.

Gibson further claims to have been offered $10,000 by Hinkle’s wife to keep silent.

Hinkle admits arranging the meeting, but disputes Gibson’s version of events and claims Gibson, along with his sister who arrived at the hotel when he phoned her, stole the electronic items.

Despite the nature of these events, Hinkle claims he is not gay and can’t explain why he set up the meeting.

Mr Hinkle has represented Indiana’s 92nd District since 2000. He had been stripped of his chairmanships of the Government and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Interim Study Committee on Driver Education.

Speaking to The Indiana Star, he said his actions were “stupid, but not illegal.”

Prostitution is illegal in the state of Indiana, and while both parties admit $80 changed hands, they deny any sexual activity took place in the evening.

Gibson, in an interview with Indianapolis’s Channel 13 news, insists he was not engaging in prostitution, claiming his advert on Craigslist was “a joke”.

Hinkle also denies his wife offered Gibson any hush money, joking: “Anybody who knows my wife knows she would not pay $10 to keep a mistake I made quiet, let alone $10,000.”

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