ORLANDO, Fla – The prosecutor who gained national attention as a key player in the case against Casey Anthony says he committed no crime on the cheating website Ashley Madison and will not resign his post.
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton held a news conference Sunday afternoon to address reports that his name appeared on data hacked from the cheating website.
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The East Orlando Post published a report Saturday suggesting Ashton may have had two accounts with the website from July 2013 to February 2015. Data stolen from hackers indicates the account associated with Ashton's name was accessed using an Internet IP address that traces back to the Ninth Judicial Circuit where Ashton works, according to the newspaper
During his news conference Sunday, Ashton said that he signed up for the site because he was curious.
"Two years ago, I was curious about the Ashley Madison website and used my personal credit card to sign up for the site," Ashton said. "I deeply regret my affiliation with the site, which has caused a great amount of stress and heartache to my wife and children. I want to publicly apologize to each of them for this embarrassment and my blatant disregard for their feelings. I indulged curiosity about the site, but it never went beyond that."
Ashton and his wife have three children, and Ashton has four adult children from previous marriages, according to his biography on the state attorney's website.
Ashton said he used his personal laptop computer to access the site, while using a WiFi network at the courthouse that's available to anyone in the courthouse complex.
"There is a report that falsely implies I used government equipment to connect to the site. I did not," Ashton said.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said she's asked the Information Systems and Services team to conduct a complete review of the database to be sure no employee has used taxpayer time or resources to access the site.
"I ask for the public's forgiveness for my shortcomings, but those choices have had absolutely no impact on the performance of my official duties," Ashton said. "I regret that I've given ammunition to those who seek to discredit the work of our office. I am proud of the work that we have accomplished thus far. But today, I'm not very proud of myself. "
The veteran prosecutor was at the center of the case against Anthony, who was acquitted in 2011 of the murder of her 2-year-old daughter three years earlier.