Former Florida Lawmaker Sued Trafficking Victim on Behalf of Gaetz Associate
Court records show Mike Beltran filed over two dozen motions in a defamation case involving a woman central to the House Ethics Committee probe of Matt Gaetz.
By Katherine Diallo ·
Republican Mike Beltran, a former Florida legislator, filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who was trafficked as a teenager while serving as legal counsel for Chris Dorworth.
Dorworth is a former Republican state lawmaker and lobbyist accused alongside former congressman Matt Gaetz of participating in an alleged sex trafficking scheme. Beltran is currently running to unseat Rep. Kathy Castor in Florida's 14th Congressional District.
Court records indicate that Beltran initiated the legal action in 2023. The suit claimed that the woman, identified in filings as A.B., falsely testified against Dorworth and defamed him in statements made to federal law enforcement officials. The case was dropped in 2024.
A bipartisan House Ethics Committee probe determined in 2024 that there was substantial evidence Gaetz had sex with a minor in 2017. The report identified the victim as a 17-year-old who had just finished junior year of high school. The probe found that she was paid by Gaetz for the encounter, which took place at Dorworth's home.
The same victim is at the center of a child sex trafficking conviction for Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty in 2022. Beltran's filings alleged that A.B. conspired with Greenberg's family to defame Dorworth. The lawsuit sought damages from both the victim and Greenberg's family members.
Beltran filed more than two dozen motions, responses, and notices in the case from April 2023 until August 2024. On the day he was replaced as Dorworth's counsel, the former lawmaker asked a court to dismiss the victim from the case, stating that his lawyers and her lawyers had reached a resolution. Beltran's campaign said he has not been involved with Dorworth since 2024 and no longer represents him.
Will Hampson, a spokesman for Beltran's campaign, stated that the country was founded on the principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. He described Beltran's work as a constitutionally mandated duty. Neither Gaetz nor Dorworth has been charged with a crime, and both have denied wrongdoing. A new civil lawsuit filed in Florida this month alleges that the three men coordinated the recruitment of young women for sex between 2017 and 2019.
Source: WMNF
