Charges against Craig harsher than some

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Larry E. Craig may have been prosecuted more harshly than other men arrested for alleged lewd contact in the same airport bathroom, it was reported.

A total of 39 other men were arrested in the same bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport during a three-month police sting this summer, The New York Times reported Monday.

Craig, an Idaho Republican who said he intends to resign his Senate seat, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct but now says he hopes to withdraw his guilty plea, the Times reported.

Craig was the only one of the 40 men to be charged with both disorderly conduct and interference with privacy, the Times reported. The other men were charged with one or the other or with indecent exposure or loitering.

Airport officials said Craig was charged with two offenses because he had peered into the stall next to him and used foot tapping and hand motions, known as ways to solicit restroom sex, the Times reported.

Craig said his actions were misinterpreted.