Ex-Lobbyist Details Groping Allegations Against Latvala: Report

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The lobbyist whose testimony led to the resignation of Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater amid allegations of sexual misconduct told the Miami Herald that the former senator groped her and touched her inappropriately.

Laura McLeod, who was the executive director and lobbyist for the nonprofit Florida Association of DUI Programs, said she would dread getting text messages from Latvala and thinking, "Why won't this stop?" She said it became a pattern, and nearly every time she was in his Senate office, “he went to close the door and he turned around to hug me and then would grope me or touch me inappropriately.”

McLeod, 59, said she did not plan to speak out and considered herself a flawed messenger because she and Latvala had a consensual sexual affair about 20 years ago. The affair ended after about three years, and they remained friends. McLeod quit her lobbying job in 2017. She now works as a legislative aide for Sen. Lauren Book of Plantation.

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Caption: State Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, a member of the committee of government oversight and accountability, asks a question about an amendment to a bill concerning police body cameras and the restrictions of access to that information on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, in Tallahassee. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon)