A co-founder of the nation's leading
LGBT rights organization was arrested Wednesday in Portland, Oregon.
According to alternative weekly
Willamette Week, Terry Bean, 66, is accused of sexually
abusing a 15-year-old young man and will be charged with two counts
of sodomy in the third degree, a felony, and sex abuse in the third
degree, a misdemeanor.
In June, Bean's former lover, Kiah
Lawson, told Willamette
Week that Bean had secretly recorded him and at least a half
dozen men “in a state of nudity engaged in intimate acts with
[Bean].” There were also allegations that Bean tried to silence
Lawson with $40,000.
Bean denied Lawson's allegation and
told the police that he was the victim of an extortion plot.
Bean was arrested after a five-month
investigation.
In June, Willamette Week reported
that Bean, a real estate developer, has given more than $1 million to
the Human Rights Campaign and that “no Oregonian has raised more
money for President Barack Obama.”
Kristen Winemiller, Bean's attorney,
said in a statement that her client would be vindicated.
“Terry Bean is a highly respected
community leader who has devoted his life to bettering our
community,” Winemiller said. “Over the course of several months
in 2013-2014 Terry was the victim of an extortion ring led by
several men known to law enforcement. This current arrest is
connected to the ongoing investigation of that case in which Mr. Bean
has fully cooperated. No allegations against Terry Bean should be
taken at face value. We look forward to the opportunity to clear his
name.”