An Argentine politician was caught on camera groping a woman before partially pulling down her top and kissing her breasts during a virtual session of the country's lower house of Congress.
Congress sessions in Argentina are being held on Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic and during one such meeting to discuss the draft Law for the Defense of Assets of the Sustainability Guarantee Fund on Thursday night, Salta lawmaker Juan Emilio Ameri was recorded engaging in the sexual act with the woman.
In footage broadcast live on the giant video screen installed at the Chamber of Deputies, a woman was seen approaching the politician and sitting on his lap. Moments later, Ameri, who claims the woman to be his partner, is then seen touching the woman before pulling down her top and suckling her breasts.
Ameri Expelled, Resignation Sought
The session was immediately interrupted as Lower House Speaker Sergio Massa, also part of the ruling coalition, announced he needed to report "a serious offence" by a deputy.
Shortly after the incident, which went viral and sparked outrage across Argentina, the ruling political party Frente de Todos announced that Ameri was "immediately and irrevocably" expelled from the coalition due to his misconduct and demanded his resignation from the bench of Deputies. Watch the clip below:
Ameri Says His Partner Got Breast Implants
Ameri, 47, apologized for his actions and said he felt bad about what had happened, adding that he thought his internet connection was poor and was caught in a compromising position with his partner unaware.
"I'm very ashamed, [I feel] very bad," Ameri said in a radio interview. "Here, throughout the interior of the country, the [Internet] connection is very bad."
He claimed that the session had reconnected automatically, without his knowledge. "We were in session, [but] the Internet dropped [out]. My partner came out of the bathroom, I asked him how the prostheses were and I gave her a kiss, because 10 days ago she had a breast implant operation," he added.
Government Officials Caught With Their Pants Down on Zoom
This isn't the first time a government official has been caught engaging in sexual acts during a live Zoom meeting. Last month, a government official in the Philippines accidentally left his camera on before having sex with his secretary during a live Zoom council meeting.
In a similar incident, a Brazilian city council member was left red-faced after realizing that he was having sexual intercourse with a woman in the background of a live city council meeting after he forgot to switch off his camera.
