Conn. Lawmaker Reportedly Makes Lewd Overture to Teen at Hearing

Invited her to do something with his ... um ... "snake."

Hartford — State Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, was removed from his post as deputy speaker this week after making an inappropriate remark to a teenager testifying during a committee hearing.

"I want to personally apologize to the young lady for the comments that I made," Hewett said on Thursday. "I don't know her name or where she is from, but I want to personally apologize to her."

During a Feb. 20 Appropriations Committee hearing, a female 17-year-old ambassador for the Connecticut Science Center asked the committee to continue funding the center's ambassador program.

During her speech, she said the program helped her overcome her shyness and get over her fear of snakes.