Published: July 15, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Updated: July 15, 2026 at 11:47 PM
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The civil case against Florida State Rep. Fabian Basabe, R-Miami Beach, has reached the finish line.
Leer en español
Basabe is accused of sexually harassing two former staffers, intern Jacob Cutbirth and legislative aide Nicholas Frevola.
Both men allege inappropriate touching and other unprofessional conduct. Tweets, texts messages and photos have all been presented as evidence.
Wednesday afternoon a jury found Basabe liable in the case.
Basabe, who is not a lawyer and who has never been to law school, elected to represent himself in the trial.
It’s a decision that has brought some rocky moments for Basabe, which included Wednesday while presenting his closing arguments before the Leon County jury.
After several sidebars, Basabe was constantly spotted texting on his cell phone, appearing to glean information for the proceedings, sometimes unsuccessfully.
At one point, Basabe said he accidentally deleted an entire page of his notes.
The jury reached their verdict after two hours of deliberation, awarding $450,000 in damages.
A portion of Wednesday’s hearing can be seen in the video below:
🏠 News From Your Neighborhood
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Terrell Forney
