Republican Mike Beltran, a former Florida legislator running for Florida's 14th Congressional District, filed a defamation lawsuit in 2023 against a woman who had been trafficked as a teenager. He did it as the lawyer for Chris Dorworth, a former Republican state legislator and lobbyist, The 19th reported Monday. 1
Dorworth is accused, along with former Rep. Matt Gaetz, of taking part in an alleged sex trafficking scheme. Neither man has been charged with a crime, and both have denied wrongdoing. Beltran has never been accused of wrongdoing in the matter. 1
What the court records show
The suit claimed the woman falsely testified against Dorworth and defamed him in statements to federal law enforcement. It was filed in Florida state court and later moved to federal court. 1
The woman is the same person a bipartisan House Ethics Committee probe found Gaetz had sex with in 2017 at Dorworth's home, when she was a minor. She is also the victim in the child sex trafficking case of Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty in 2022. 1
Beltran filed more than two dozen motions, responses and notices from April 2023 until he was replaced as Dorworth's lawyer in August 2024. That same day, Dorworth asked the court to dismiss the woman from the case, saying the parties had "reached a resolution of this matter." 1 Local coverage at the time said Dorworth's claims against Greenberg and others stayed active. 2
The woman's attorney, Laura Wolf, said at the time that the woman was glad the case was over. 2
Our client is happy to be done with this bizarre lawsuit.
The campaign's response
Beltran spokesman Will Hampson defended the work in a statement. 1
Our country was founded on the bedrock that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and entitled to a defense in a court of law,
Hampson also criticized The 19th for reporting on the work and said Beltran was carrying out his "constitutionally mandated duty." The campaign says Beltran has not been involved with Dorworth since 2024. 1
What happens next
Earlier this month, a civil lawsuit was filed in Florida against Gaetz, Dorworth and Greenberg. It alleges they coordinated the recruitment of young women for sex, facilitated with drugs, between 2017 and 2019. Gaetz has said he will finally get the chance to "confront my accusers." 1
Castor was redistricted this year into a Republican-leaning Tampa-area seat that voted for Donald Trump by 11 points in 2024. Polling shows a close race. 1 Election Day is Nov. 3.
That matters because Beltran presents himself as a fiscal conservative willing to defy his own party. 1 Lawyers are entitled to represent unpopular clients. Even so, voters can fairly weigh which cases a candidate chose to take and how he pursued them. The sources reviewed for this brief did not include a Castor campaign response.
The Record
- Beltran files the original defamation complaint for Dorworth against the woman and Greenberg's family (April 2023 filing). 1
- Local news reports Dorworth dismissed his suit against the woman; Beltran had been replaced as his lawyer. 2
- The 19th reports Beltran's legal work for Dorworth, days before the midterm election. 1
Sources
- The 19th, “A GOP House candidate did legal work for man accused in sex trafficking scandal” (2026-10-26). 19thnews.org/2026/10/florida-us-house-congressional-race-mik
- ClickOrlando (WKMG News 6), “Ex-Florida lawmaker dismisses lawsuit against Joel Greenberg's underage sex victim” (2024-08-02). clickorlando.com/news/politics/2024/08/02/ex-florida-lawmake
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