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State rep quits re-election bid amid sex allegations

By AP/St. Louis Public Radio

Kansas City, Mo. – A Democratic state representative from Kansas City plans to formally withdraw his re-election bid Monday amid reports he had a relationship with an 18-year-old
college student.

Roman LeBlanc said in a news release Friday that seeking a second term would not be "in the best interest" of his family or community.

The announcement came several days after an article in the alternative weekly newspaper The Pitch described a relationship between the 38-year-old lawmaker and the student.

The woman whom he had mentored accused him of raping her. But prosecutors say investigators found "insufficient evidence" that a crime had been committed.

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