Indiana mayor charged with paying for sex with man

BATESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — An HIV-positive Indianapolis man has been charged with trying to blackmail a small-town Indiana mayor after the two had sex at the politician's home.

Batesville Mayor Richard Fledderman, 60, was charged Tuesday with patronizing a prostitute, while Randy Wigle-Stevens, 42, has been charged with failure to disclose dangerous communicable disease status, prostitution and intimidation.

The case was taken up by Indiana State Police after Wigle-Stevens went to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on July 19 claiming he had been sexually assaulted by the mayor. Police investigators have since uncovered conflicting tales of what happened.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed Tuesday, Fledderman told police he found Wigle-Stevens through a website, saying he was seeking a massage while his wife was out of town. Detective Roger Drew said Fledderman later admitted he was looking for sex.

Fledderman told Drew he paid Wigle-Stevens $170, including a $10 tip, for consensual sex at his Batesville home on June 7, 2014, according to the affidavit. Drew said Wigle-Stevens told him Fledderman forced him to perform a sex act.