Washington (CNN) A Michigan state senator apologized Wednesday after a female reporter said he remarked a day earlier that male high school students could "have a lot of fun" with her -- a comment she believes was intended to intimidate.

Republican Senate Majority Whip Peter Lucido issued the apology after the reporter, Allison Donahue of the Michigan Advance, published a firsthand account of the Tuesday exchange at the state Capitol.

According to her account, Donahue had approached Lucido to ask him a question in the process of reporting when the senator, who was standing in front of a group of boys from his high school alma mater, told her he would speak with her "after he was finished honoring the group of students."

"As I turned to walk away, (Lucido) asked, 'You've heard of De La Salle, right?'" Donahue wrote, referring to the private, all-boys Catholic school in the state. "I told him I hadn't."

"'It's an all boys' school,'" Lucido said, according to Donahue. "You should hang around! You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you."

Read More