A US prosecutor has decided to go ahead with formal charges against Alberta MLA Mike Allen, according to The Canadian Press.
On Tuesday, media outlets reported that the 51 year old Progressive Conservative legislator was arrested as part of a prostitution ring in Minnesota, where he was attending a conference on behalf of the government.
On Friday, he was officially charged with a gross misdemeanor of solicitation of prostitution.
The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the police report which sheds some more light on the details of what exactly happened.
A court document alleges that Allen, 51, phoned a number listed on an online erotic ad and arranged for a meeting. It says he took a limo to a motel, not knowing he was actually meeting an undercover female officer.
“The defendant agreed to pay $200 in exchange for sexual intercourse with two women for one hour while wearing a condom,” says the statement of probable cause.
“The defendant placed the cash on the counter and began to undress.”
The female officer then gave a “bust signal” and other police entered the room and arrested Allen, says the document.
In a statement released Tuesday, Allen apologized for his mistake and resigned from the Conservative caucus and all legislative committees.
“I apologize to my family, my friends, my constituents, my colleagues, my staff, and to all Albertans for the embarrassment I have caused in failing to live up to the standards expected of me and the standards I expect of myself,” the rookie MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo wrote.
“I made this mistake as a result of a profound lapse in my personal judgment. It is a mistake for which there are no excuses and for which I accept full responsibility.”
Allen is to appear in a St. Paul court in late September.
In the State of Minnesota, a gross misdemeanor carries a maximum imprisonment of one year in jail and a fine of not more than $3,000.
While Allen has resigned from caucus, he did not resign from the legislature saying that he will take some time “to reflect on that.”
On Thursday, Premier Alison Redford told reporters that she was “disgusted” by the arrest but wouldn’t offer an opinion on whether or not Allen should quit.