Anti-Gay Craigslist Lawmaker Who Paid Teen $80 For Sex: “I’m Not Gay”

Phil Hinkle, the anti-gay Indiana “Craigslist lawmaker” who paid a gay male teen $80 for the promise of sex refuses to resign his seat, claims he is not gay, and says he has no idea why he did it. Hinkle, an anti-​gay, opposite-​sex married Indiana state lawmaker reportedly offered Kameryn Gibson, “who lists his age as 20 in the ad but says he is 18 years old,” $80 to meet for a hookup at a local Marriott hotel, and when the young man tried to back out of the deal, Hinkle reportedly exposed himself and tried to prevent him from leaving the hotel room, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star. 

READ: Anti-Gay Lawmaker Offers $80 For Gay Teen Craigslist M4M Hotel Hookup

Hinkle denies he exposed himself, and denies he tried to stop Gibson from leaving the hotel room, but admits they met through the Craigslist local M4M section.

The Indianapolis Star reports,

“Hinkle’s version of what happened that night in Room 2610 at the JW Marriott hotel differs greatly from the version provided by the young man and his sister.

“Kameryn Gibson, the 18-year-old who said he was looking for a “sugga daddy” in the Craigslist posting, told The Star that he tried to leave the room that night and called his sister Megan after Hinkle identified himself as a lawmaker. He also said Hinkle tried to keep him from leaving, exposed himself and then — after his sister arrived — offered them $100 cash, an iPad and a Blackberry to keep quiet.

“Hinkle’s version: He never exposed himself and never offered anything to the Gibsons to keep quiet. Instead, he said, Kameryn Gibson stole those items when Hinkle was in the bathroom.

“These people,” Hinkle said, “are lying through their teeth.”

“Kameryn and Megan Gibson stood by their story Tuesday.

“Whatever happened in that hotel room, the events that brought them there are not in dispute — and continue to form the basis for renewed calls for the Indianapolis Republican to resign.”

The Star adds Hinkle offered this as the reason for his actions: “I was on the road to self-destruction, and I don’t know why.”

Hinkle said he’s not excusing his actions, which he called “stupid, but not illegal.” Both Hinkle and Kameryn Gibson say that money exchanged hands but that neither engaged in a sex act.

Hinkle also said Tuesday he’s not a homosexual.

“I say that emphatically,” he said. “I’m not gay.”

And,

“I went to the edge,” Hinkle said, “but I didn’t fall over the edge.”