A Democratic candidate for mayor in New Orleans allegedly masturbated during an Uber ride in California earlier this year, authorities said.<\/p>\n
A female driver allegedly caught Frank Scurlock, who has campaigned calling for a \u201csafer\u201d New Orleans<\/a>, pleasuring himself on a trip to a West Hollywood hotel on Feb. 10, Santa Monica Chief Deputy City Attorney Terry White told The Advocate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Charges in connection to the incident weren\u2019t filed until Aug. 31 because of questions regarding jurisdiction in the case, White said.<\/p>\n Scurlock \u2014 known locally for his slogan to \u201cMake New Orleans Fun Again\u201d \u2013 is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Criminal Court on Oct. 16, two days after the mayoral primary in New Orleans.<\/p>\n The female Uber driver reported to police that she was transporting Scurlock on a highway near Santa Monica when she heard noises coming from the back seat. The driver then stopped the car and opened the passenger car door where Scurlock was sitting and found him with his erect penis in his hand, White said.<\/p>\n The driver then went to a nearby gas station to call police and Scurlock allegedly fled the scene, White said, referencing the woman\u2019s statement to police and prosecutors. The woman then took investigators back to the hotel where she initially picked Scurlock up, The Times-Picayune reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey went back to the hotel and were able to get a name,\u201d White told the newspaper. \u201cBased on the name, they got a picture and put it in a photo lineup, and the driver identified him.\u201d<\/p>\n If found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct, Scurlock would need to register as a sex offender in California. It\u2019s unclear if he would also need to register as a sex offender in Louisiana if convicted, according to The Advocate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations brought against me are without merit,\u201d Scurlock said in a statement obtained by WDSU<\/a>. \u201cIt has been many months since this alleged incident occurred. I await my day in court and expect to be vindicated.\u201d<\/p>\n Scurlock was also arrested in May at the Jefferson Davis statue in New Orleans, where he allegedly approached an officer at a protest by opponents of a plan to remove the statue.<\/p>\n Scurlock told The Advocate<\/a> after his arrest that he opposed the monument being removed because it could start a \u201cCivil War II.\u201d He was initially charged with obstructing a public passage, but the charge was later changed to assault before a judge dismissed the case altogether, The Times-Picayune reports.<\/p>\n Scurlock, a native of New Orleans, is the son of John Scurlock, who founded\u00a0Space Walk Inc., a bouncy house manufacturing company, in 1958, according to a biography on his campaign website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFrank and his family have grown Space Walk Inc. into a multi-million-dollar company that operates in 200 communities across the country,\u201d the website reads. \u201cFrank built Spacewalk into America\u2019s leader in inflatable fun. Spacewalk is in its third generation of family leadership under his son Mials Scurlock.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to The Post, Scurlock\u2019s son, Mials, said his father divorced from his mother, Patricia Murphy, in 2013. Murphy at that point bought Scurlock out of the family business, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother solely owns the trademark,\u201d the statement read. \u201cFurther, she is the 100% shareholder.\u201d<\/p>\n Scurlock has been estranged from his family since 2013, according to the statement provided by his son, Mials.<\/p>\n