WASHINGTON -- The teenage pages who engaged in sex with two congressmen both testified they entered the relationships willingly and hold no grudges, according to the official transcript of their testimony Thursday.
A 17-year-old female page who engaged in sex in 1980 with Rep. Daniel Crane, R-Ill., testified she 'found the congressman, as an older man, very attractive,' the investigative report issued by the House ethics committee said.
The 17-year-old male page who had a homosexual relationship -- his first -- with Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., told the investigators he found the congressman 'an intelligent, witty, gentle man.'
The report said the female page testified she met Crane through a male page and that one night in 1980 Crane, working late in his Capitol Hill office, asked her to have a drink with him. They went to Crane's apartment.
The following is the transcript of her testimony to House investigators:
Q: Can you tell us what happened after you got to the apartment?
A: Well, he drank beer and we had a discussion.
Q: Can you tell us what that was about?
A: Just about whether we were going to finish up or he was going to take me home then.
Q: Okay.
A: But I wouldn't have gone that far if I didn't already want to or have in my mind that I was going to do something like that.
Q: When you say, 'whether you were going to finish up,' I take it whether you were going to go to bed with him, is that right?
A: Right.
Q: Did that subject come up prior to your getting to the apartment?
A: No.
Q: But you, just in your own mind, had thought about it before; is that what you mean?
A: Right.
Q: And what happened?
A: We went to bed.
Q: And I take it from what you are saying, that was entirely voluntary on your part?
A: Oh, yes.
Q: Did you -- just to be clear -- I don't want to get you embarrassed here. Did you have sexual relations with him that night?
A: Yes.
Q: Now, were there any other occasions after that when you went out with Congressman Crane?
A: Went out with? No.
Q: Were there any other occasions when you went to his apartment again?
A. Yes.
Q: Can you tell us approximately how many times you went to his apartment after that first night?
A: Three or four more times.
Q: Did you have sexual relations with him on those occasions?
A: Yes.
Q: And I believe you made some comment to the effect that it was as much your fault as his; is that right?
A: Right. It was my decision just as much as it was his.
The page involved with Studds said he was introduced to the congressman in a restaurant. Later, Studds invited him to have dinner at Studds' apartment.
Q: What happened at that dinner?
A: Well, we sat around and talked about abstract and general questions, all types and descriptions, until 4 in the morning, drinking vodka and cranberry juice, at which time I was told by the congressman that he was too drunk to give me a ride home and so he said, 'Why don't you sleep here?' and I did.
'At that point, according to the page's testimony, the congressman engaged the page in sexual activity,' the report said. 'The page testified that the sexual relationship continued after that first night.'
Q: When the congressman first invited you to have dinner and as you got to know the congressman, how did you feel in that environment, that a congressman was talking to you?
A: I was flattered and excited.
Q: Did you feel intimidated?
A: No, I did not. I would like to state at this time ... the congressman was an intelligent, witty, gentle man with I think a high level of insecurity. He did nothing to me which I would consider destructive or painful. In another time, in another society, the action would be acceptable, perhaps even laudable. Unfortunately this is not the case. I have no axe to grind with him. I have nothing negative to say about the man. In fact, I thought that he provided me with one of the more wonderful experiences of my life, if we exclude the instances of sexual experience which I was somewhat uncomfortable with. But I did not think it was that big a deal.
Q: You said you felt uncomfortable with it, did you continue with him because he was a congressman, because he was someone you were impressed with?
A: No. Well, I kept company with him because he was an intelligent man, a fun person to be with. If I could have had my druthers, I would have had the friendship that I had with the man without the sex. And I mentioned that to him.
