Speaking for the first time about her husband's acknowledgment that he paid for sex with an alleged prostitute, Stabenow told the Detroit Free Press this afternoon she's going through a "very difficult and personal" time and will continue to work through it with her family.

The senator from Lansing, Mich., did not want to talk about whether she and her husband are still together or how she learned of his being stopped by police in February. According to a police report obtained this morning by the Free Press, Tom Athans — executive of liberal TalkUSA Radio — told Troy detectives he paid a prostitute he contacted via the Internet $150 for sex at a Residence Inn in the metro Detroit suburb.

He was not charged with solicitation after being stopped as part of a police sting — only cited for driving with a suspended license. He was stopped on I-75 driving a car registered to him and Stabenow, whom he married in 2003.

Troy police had set up a stakeout at the Residence Inn because of allegations of prostitution at a room in the motel, the police report said.

Officers said they saw Athans enter the room Feb. 26 and leave 15 minutes later, and they stopped him and informed him of the investigation.

Athans was cooperative and didn't ask for preferential treatment, said police Lt. Gerry Scherlinck.

Stabenow spoke to the Free Press a few minutes after delivering a speech on the Senate floor on the need to help Michigan families fighting foreclosure and lost jobs — a theme she has been pounding on for months, repeating her call for an extension of unemployment benefits.

Her demeanor showed none of the stress she acknowledged she's under now.

"I have a job to do and I'm continuing to be focused on the things that matter most to Michgian families," she told the Free Press.

Athans, 46, issued a statement through a Royal Oak law firm representing him, saying, "No words can fully express how sorry I am. At the time this incident occurred, I took responsibility for my actions and fully cooperated with law enforcement. My family and I are dealing with this matter in a personal and private way."

Athans started TalkUSA Radio in 2006 after leading programming at Air America, the liberal network that declared bankruptcy that year.

Without being specific, Stabenow, 57, said her colleagues have been showing their support for her.

"I'm very grateful for the prayers and support I'm receiving," she said.

Police said they arrested Alycia Martin, 20, of Westland in the hotel room on a charge of prostitution. She was arraigned March 12 and freed on $100 bail pending a hearing on April 22. There is no telephone listing for her in Westland and she did not have an attorney of record to speak for her Wednesday.

The Detroit Free Press and USA TODAY are both owned by Gannett.

Contributing: Associated Press

Enlarge By Paul Sancya, AP Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., left, and her husband Thomas Athans, right, at a 2006 election night rally in Detroit. Athans said he paid for oral sex with a woman in a hotel, according to a police report.

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