Congressman Mark Foley is unlikely to face criminal charges

Reported By: Amie Parnes
Scripps Howard News Services

Former Congressman Mark Foley is unlikely to face criminal charges for sending sexually explicit e-mails to teenage boys, sources close to the year-long investigation have told Scripps Howard News Service.

That could change if new evidence surfaces in the next week that proved Foley, 52, sent online messages to male teenagers with the intent to “seduce, solicit, lure, entice, or attempt to seduce a child,” a third degree felony under Florida law.

But as of now, the end of Foley’s political career may be the most severe consequence that the former congressman faces for the revelations that stunned his longtime supporters and prompted his immediate resignation, just weeks before the 2006 election. The Fort Pierce Republican represented parts of St. Lucie, Martin, Okeechobee and Palm Beach counties.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said this week that the investigation should be completed within the next several days.

To read more link to our Scripps News Partners at TCPalm: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/aug/24/foley-wont-be/

The contents of those IMs were broadcast across the planet by the major networks, yet Florida's prosecutors let the case drop for "lack of evidence?"

When the system's so broken that they'll let a kiddy-fiddler skate because he's got friends in high places, it makes me wonder if it can be fixed at all.

:hi: