A Florida lawmaker accused of sending inappropriate emails and instant messages to Congressional pages has checked into an alcoholism treatment program, the Orlando Sentinel reported Oct. 2.

"I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems," said Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) in a prepared statement. Foley was forced to resign from Congress after news broke about sexually explicit messages sent to a teenage page; the matter is currently under investigation by the FBI.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said that Foley had "duped a lot of people. I have known him for all the years he has served in this House, and he deceived me, too."

But Hastert and other GOP leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have been accused of covering up the accusations surrounding Foley, who had been leading in the race to retain his key seat in the House until the scandal unfolded.

Ironically, Foley also chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus.