State

HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston woman and her husband want a state lawmaker tested for sexually transmitted diseases after they claim he forcibly kissed the woman at a holiday party.

Nathaniel and Krysynthia Rido made the accusations against state Rep. Borris Miles in a lawsuit filed in state district court on Friday.

Miles' spokesman, Donald Fields, said in the Houston Chronicle's Saturday online editions that Miles was not immediately available for comment because he was in Memorial Hospital with pneumonia. Messages left at Miles' offices by The Associated Press were not immediately returned on Sunday.

"It was extremely serious," Fields told the newspaper. "For three days it was very, very serious."

The Harris County District Attorney's Office has been looking into a complaint that Miles entered a hotel ballroom without an invitation, confronted guests, displayed a pistol and forcibly kissed another man's wife.

The Ridos' lawsuit contends Miles acted in a "depraved, unconscionable and reckless manner, leaving in his wake shame, embarrassment and mental trauma."

Krysynthia Rido said she fears AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases because she was exposed to "Miles' unwanted bodily fluids." She wants the court to order Miles to undergo blood tests for sexually transmitted diseases.

The suit also accuses Miles, 42, of assault and battery and asks for compensatory and punitive damages.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that some STDs can be transmitted orally. Its Web site says AIDS cannot be transmitted through casual kissing.

Miles represents District 146. He is facing a Democratic primary challenge from former state Rep. Al Edwards.