Alabama State Representative Brett Easterbrook is charged with attempted first-degree human trafficking and soliciting prostitution. According to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, he allegedly paid $500 for sex with an escort he believed was a minor. He was booked on October 2 and walked out of jail within half an hour.

Easterbrook, a Republican, represents House District 65, which includes Washington County and parts of Clarke and Baldwin counties. Despite the charges, he still holds that seat.

He was not the only public official caught in the same sheriff's operation. Satsuma City School Board President Kory Wesley also faces an attempted first-degree human trafficking charge, and he has already resigned. The Orange Beach public works director, charged with soliciting prostitution, no longer works for the city.

Easterbrook is entitled to his day in court. But a lawmaker accused of trying to pay for sex with someone he thought was a minor should not keep voting on laws that protect Alabama's children while that case is open. Families in District 65 deserve a representative whose focus is on them, not on a criminal defense.

Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and the Alabama Legislature have the power to act. They should call on Easterbrook to step aside until the charges are resolved, send the case for a formal ethics review, and strengthen penalties for elected officials convicted of sex crimes involving minors. Public office should never be a shield.

Sign the petition to tell Alabama leaders that Rep. Easterbrook must step aside now, before he casts another vote.