Former Candidate Accused Of Sex Act Demands Resignation

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Former embattled Miami Beach Commission candidate Rafael A. Velasquez, who was crushed in the November election after an elected city official accused him of exposing himself days earlier, called for the resignation of his accuser on Thursday. Velasquez' public demand that Kristen Rosen Gonzalez step down as Miami Beach commissioner followed a decision by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office not to pursue charges against him. Velasquez claims that Rosen Gonzalez fabricated the story to cash in on the #MeToo movement.

"Six months ago, I was well on my way to doing what I had dreamt for years of achieving — gaining a position of trust where I could serve my neighbors, community, city and beloved nation," Velasquez said in a statement on Thursday. "Instead, I was savagely defamed and had my reputation assassinated by a powerful, if clearly unhinged, woman: criminal commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez."

Rosen Gonzalez, who is running for the congressional seat held by the retiring Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, refused to back away from her allegation on Thursday.

"This is like saying Bill Cosby is innocent," she told Patch.

In a memo closing out the criminal inquiry against Velasquez, prosecutors pointed to a lack of evidence in the case and the fact that Rosen Gonzalez did not immediately come forward after the alleged incident. There were no other witnesses in the case.

But prosecutors also declined to bring charges against Rosen Gonzalez based on a separate inquiry into Velasquez' allegation that Rosen Gonzalez fabricated the story for political gain.

"Let me be clear: Kristen Rosen Gonzalez is a calculated liar who decided the best way to improve her failing congressional campaign last year was to hitch a ride on the media attention provided by the #metoo movement," Velasquez said on Thursday. "This disgusting and cynical strategy is a slap in the face to every woman who's been forced to stay quiet after facing sexual assault and harassment at the hands of a powerful man. It is a slap in the face to all women, period. I don't know how Kristen can face her daughters after telling such a lie."

Rosen Gonzalez told Patch shortly before the November election that she had been "embarrassed" to go public with her allegation until it looked as though Velasquez was likely to win a seat on the commission.

"After it happened, I swept it under the rug and continued to campaign for him," Rosen Gonzalez said at the time. "I think I was ashamed and by ignoring it, and pretending that it didn't happen, would make it go away."

A second woman, identified as Frances Alban of Alban Communications told Local 10 News at the time that Velasquz grabbed her backside while taking a photograph with her in June and then sent suggestive text messages, something that he later apologized for even though he said that he did not intentionally touch the woman inappropriately.

Rosen Gonzalez called her decision to come forward at the time as one of the most difficult she had ever had to make.

Rafael A. Velasquez is pictured with his wife and two young daughters. Photo used with permission of Velasquez.