congressional page sex scandal

The Congressional Page sex scandal was a political scandal in the United States involving members of the United States House of Representatives. On July 14, 1983, the House Ethics Committee concluded that U.S. Rep. Dan Crane (R-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) had engaged in sexual relationships with minors. The minors in question were 17-year-old congressional pages. In Crane's case, it was a 1980 relationship with a female page and in Studds's case, it was a 1973 relationship with a male page. Both representatives immediately copped to the charges and the committee decided to reprimand the two. However, then-congressional newcomer U.S. Rep. Newton L. Gingrich (R-Ga.) demanded expulsion. On July 20, the House voted for censure, the first time that censure had been imposed for sexual misconduct. Crane, who tearfully apologized for his transgression, lost his bid for reelection in 1984. Studds, however, refused to apologize, and continued to be reelected until his retirement in 1996.

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