Ashton, who unsuccessfully prosecuted the case against Casey Anthony, says he committed no crime on the cheating website and will not resign his post.
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Ashton said he was “so curious how this could exist”.
Florida State Attorney Jeff Ashton admitted Sunday to being a member of Ashley Madison, a paid online dating service for people looking to have extramarital affairs, Florida’s WFTV reported.
He ran for state attorney in 2012 and is not up for re-election until 2016. He would not say what influence the revelation has had on his marriage.
“While I indulged my curiosity about the site it never went beyond that”, Ashton said, as he apologized for his actions. “They were incredibly stupid choices”. I ask for the public’s forgiveness for my shortcomings, but those choices have had absolutely no impact on the performance of my official duties.
But Ashton added, “No laws were broken” in his use of the website, which has gained more attention in recent days after it was hacked and information about clients became public.
Ashton said at the press conference that although he had an account with the site, he never met anyone and never had an affair. In 2011, Ashton worked as prosecutor in the highly-publicized Casey Anthony murder trial. Back in 1987, Ashton was the first prosecutor in the nation to introduce DNA-based evidence in a case.
The prosecutor isn’t the only Florida elected official who has had to acknowledge using Ashley Madison. Final Friday, state Rep. Ritch Workman stated in a press release that he had clicked on the location three years in the past when he was single.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said she’s asked the Information Systems and Services team to conduct a complete review of the database to be sure no employee has used taxpayer time or resources to access the site.
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The announcement for the press conference came after Channel 9’s request for an interview regarding the initial published reports on the website East Orlando Post.
