In a lawsuit in Leon County, former Basabe aide Nicolas Frevola and his associate, Jacob Cutbirth, claim Basabe sexually harassed them while they were working as his assistants, and that the Florida House of Representatives organized sham investigations to bury evidence of the misconduct.
But while much of the lawsuit reiterates previously reported allegations about Basabe's treatment of the two former staffers and the investigations that followed, it mentions a new claim that Basabe sexually battered a man at Basabe's pool-house property in late 2022.
Frevola says that after he found his friend in Basabe's bed and asked him what happened, the man started crying and said he didn't want to discuss it. The lawsuit alleges Frevola "believed that Basabe had sexually battered" the man, referred to as D.D. in the lawsuit, and had "taken advantage of him when he was intoxicated."
Florida statutes define sexual battery as "oral, anal, or female genital penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or female genital penetration of another by any other object."
D.D. is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit and was not the subject of the Florida House investigations.
Basabe responded in a statement calling the allegations "disgraceful, politically and financially motivated." He said they were lodged in an attempt to discredit him just before the August 20 primary election.
"It is a shame that stricter laws are not in place against marketing unproven character assassination attempts, which is something I'll be looking into after my victory in both upcoming elections!" Basabe wrote.
According to the lawsuit, Basabe told Frevola to invite D.D., a man in his 20s, to Basabe's residence (a domicile he calls "Shiloh" that's separate from his family's Miami Beach home). The complaint claims that after Basabe told Frevola several times that D.D. was "cute" and asked Frevola to invite D.D. to his home that evening to "come hang out," Frevola and D.D. went to the property on December 19, 2022.
While there, Basabe offered his guests vodka with Coke Zero and allegedly encouraged everyone to drink. The lawsuit claims that because none of Basabe's three guests had swim trunks, he encouraged them to get in the pool in their underwear.
Frevola says in the complaint that he witnessed Basabe begin to grope at and try to kiss D.D., and heard D.D. tell Basabe "I don't roll that way" while rebuffing his attempts.
While D.D. was visibly intoxicated, the lawsuit claims, Frevola saw Basabe grab D.D.'s arm and pull him toward the inside of his home. The complaint alleges that Frevola, who slept in the pool house at Shiloh that night, went looking for D.D. the next morning — and found a naked D.D. getting out of the bed and grabbing his underwear, which was still wet from the pool the night before.
Frevola says that when he asked D.D. what happened, D.D. started to cry and stated that he did not want to talk about it. Frevola asked D.D. again later that day, to which D.D. replied, "I don't want to talk about it; you know what happened," according to the lawsuit.
After dropping D.D. off at his home, Frevola took Basabe to a career day event at a local elementary school. He claims Basabe hit on him inside a fifth-grade classroom and slapped his posterior. On the car ride back from the school, Frevola alleges, Basabe mentioned D.D. again.
"On the way to Shiloh, Basabe stated to Frevola about D.D., 'I was all up in that butt last night' and 'Your friend is really cute,'" the lawsuit states.
In his statement, Basabe said the lawsuit represented "dirty politics at its worst."
"I rejected the plaintiffs' attempt at extorting me of $50,000 for a 'go away' settlement," Basabe said. "I am an innocent victim, I will not settle, not today and not ever!"
"I think it's important to note the plaintiffs have collectively and conveniently made themselves unavailable for their depositions under oath until after the election, stating the reason that those who claim to have suffered a financial burden are on extended vacation travel over the next few months," Basabe continued (his full statement is included below). "It appears, however, accusations will continue to come my way because as long as some people can talk, they can also lie, apparently with zero remorse."
Basabe was elected in November 2022 after beating out Jordan Leonard in a tight race in which Basabe ran as a moderate Republican. The former reality TV show star was the subject of heated protests after he voted in favor of the "Don't Say Gay" expansion bill, among other culture-war measures that targeted the LGBTQ community.
According to the lawsuit, Frevola and Cutbirth were the subject of unwanted sexual advances from Basabe while working for the then-newly elected statehouse member in 2023. Among other allegations, they say he tried to pressure them into sex and encouraged them to "sport fuck" other men. As previously reported by New Times, Frevola also accused Basabe of slapping him across the face and forcing him to stand in the corner of a room for ten seconds like a naughty child during a Tallahassee social gathering back in January 2023.
After a two-month probe, a law firm enlisted by the Florida House of Representatives determined that the allegation of a facial slap could not be verified – though there was an apparent conflict and physical contact between the two men.
A separate investigation into the allegations that Basabe sexually harassed Frevola and Cutbirth found that their accounts could not be corroborated.
At the heart of the new lawsuit are Frevola and Cutbirth's claims that the Florida House rigged the investigations to "circle its wagons around Basabe to protect him in a seat which historically had been Democratic." The pair says the lawyers hired by the Florida House to investigate failed to interview key witnesses and that "fraudulent reports" were issued to cover up Basabe's misconduct against Frevola and Cutbirth.
In Cutbirth's sexual harassment case, the pair say, the investigator's report "completely left out the most significant piece of documentary evidence," a text message from Cutbirth to his friends in which he said he had to quit work in Basabe's office to "avoid being sexually harassed."
Basabe's statement in response to the lawsuit follows below:
While criminal charges have never been filed in any bogus allegation including my name due to lack of any corroborating evidence, along with two third party investigations which failed to prove anything conclusive, this is, in no uncertain terms, another disgraceful, politically and financially motivated accusation in an attempt to discredit my character just before my primary Election Day, this coming Tuesday, with intention of advancing my Republicsn primary opponent to a general race she stands absolutely no chance of winning. This is dirty politics at its worst!
Those who are printing and producing this information are beyond malicious and defamatory at this point and I hope it is obvious these continuous smears have never been about the allegations, which are despicable and FALSE.
Furthermore, I rejected the plaintiffs' attempt at extorting me of $50,000 for a “go away” settlement.
I am an innocent victim, I will not settle, not today and not ever!
I think it’s important to note the plaintiffs have collectively and conveniently made themselves unavailable for their depositions under oath until after the election, stating the reason that those who claim to have suffered a financial burden are on extended vacation travel over the next few months.
It appears however, accusations will continue to come my way because as long as some people can talk, they can also lie, apparently with zero remorse.
Meanwhile, I am continuing to do my job without allowing any distractions from my responsibilities and my campaign.
It is a shame that stricter laws are not in place against marketing unproven character assassination attempts, which is something I’ll be looking into after my victory in both upcoming elections!
