Florida's Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll stopped by Orange Park Saturday to help open a campaign office for Mitt Romney but ended up talking about the accusations against her being made a former staffer.

Carletha Cole, who is facing charges of making an illegal recording in the capitol, accused Carroll of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female staffer.

"It's lies. The individual is facing felony charges with up to five years imprisonment and she's just grasping at straws right now," Carroll said Saturday.

The lieutenant governor called the accusations "outlandish" and "unfortunate." Saturday her husband and son joined her in Clay County; she says Cole's attacks affect them too.

"The problem is when you have these accusations that come out it's not just the one person that you're attacking, it's an entire family," Carroll said. "My husband doesn't want to hear that. He knows the type of woman I am. And my kids know the type of woman I am."

Supporters at the ribbon cutting said they know what kind of woman she is as well. Many of them said they came out just to let her know they stand behind her.

"Being a public figure you're going to have things like that come up," Judith Chapple said. "You know when I heard it I actually giggled about it because you know it's just ridiculous."

Carroll admitted she was also surprised by the accusations. She said she'd known Cole from the campaign trail and political groups before she joined her staff.

"I gave her a job when she had no job. And I thought I was doing a good thing. But I guess no good deed goes unpunished," she said.