Lawmaker with porn sites as web tabs: ‘I am not a pervert’

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A state lawmaker who shared with colleagues a screengrab showing web browser tabs that referenced pornographic content took to the House floor to insist: “I am not a pervert.”

Democratic Rep. Ramon Perez, of Providence, addressed colleagues from the floor on Tuesday.

“I am not a pervert. I made a big mistake of trusting too much in people,” he told them as he denied looking at pornography online. “I know that people don’t believe me here. They say that’s the excuse everybody makes, oh, it was somebody else.”

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Perez apologized last week after distributing the screengrab to members of the House Finance Committee. The screenshot showed a page with information relevant to legislation about car accident insurance that was being discussed, but above it there were multiple open browser tabs with titles referencing obscene material.

Perez said he got it from a friend who had researched the issue for him.

Rep. Teresa Tanzi, a member of the committee, called the incident “deeply disturbing.”

On Tuesday, Perez apologized directly to Tanzi, and asked his colleagues for forgiveness. Perez, who is married, got emotional as he called what happened “a nightmare” and said he has lost sleep over it.

“Just give me a chance and don’t judge me so quick,” he said. “It was an innocent mistake.”

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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com