Prosecutors clear official in Fla. sex case

McGee had been accused of assaulting boy, 15

Florida prosecutors dropped a case yesterday involving a Patrick administration official who had been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old in a Gulf Coast resort.

For months, officials considered filing charges against Charles Stanley McGee, assistant secretary for policy and planning in Massachusetts, but were unable to make a case.

"I do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," Assistant State Attorney Francine H. Donnorummo said in a statement yesterday. "Consistent with our legal and ethical considerations, I am therefore declining to file formal charges."

Investigators had no DNA evidence or witnesses corroborating the teenager's story, according to the statement, which outlined the problems in the case.

The 15-year-old, identified as Jonathan in the statement, said McGee, 38, performed sex acts on him in the steam room of the Gasparilla Inn & Club, a 95-year-old hotel and championship golf course in Boca Grande. Investigators were unable to locate the towels worn by either person so they could be inspected for forensic evidence linking either one to the scene. Investigators also did not gather any forensic evidence from the steam room, the report said.

The teenager, from Rochester, N.Y., told police a man had been asleep on a bench outside the steam room, but investigators were unable to identify him. Additionally, there was no video surveillance in the area, nor steam room sign-in logs for guests.

The teenager's father had called local police to report the incident. Police asked the teenager to identify the suspect from a police car, but the teenager said the windows of the car were too dirty to make an identification. When he stepped out of the car, he told investigators he was trembling too much to recognize the suspect. Police later disguised the teenager in glasses and a hat, at which time he identified McGee.

McGee was arrested Dec. 28 and held in jail overnight on $300,000 bond. On Jan. 7, Massachusetts officials placed him on unpaid leave from his $115,000 a year position. McGee's arraignment on a charge of sexual battery was repeatedly postponed in the weeks that followed.

Yesterday, it remained unclear whether McGee would return to work. Dan O'Connell, secretary of housing and economic development and McGee's direct supervisor, did not return phone calls, and his receptionist referred all questions to the governor's office. The governor's spokesman, Kyle Sullivan, did not return phone calls yesterday.

McGee's lawyer, Charles W. Rankin, issued a two-sentence statement about the resolution of the case. "The state attorney in Lee County, Fla., after a thorough investigation, has decided that no charges should be brought against Stan McGee," it said. "Mr. McGee believes the decision by the Florida prosecutor not to pursue this case speaks for itself, and he looks forward to going on with his life."

McGee, a Rhodes scholar and Harvard Law School graduate known for his shock of platinum hair, was instrumental in defeating efforts to overturn the legalization of gay marriage in the state. He served as director of civic and business outreach efforts of the advocacy group MassEquality. In 2004, his wedding to John Finley IV was highlighted in the "Vows" section of The New York Times.

Mitchell Adams, a longtime friend and executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, called the prosecutor's decision to drop the case "magnificent."

"This has been the most horrible situation without any basis in fact," he said.