The Connecticut Science Center has released a statement regarding Rep. Hewett’s comments made during a public hearing. The following statement is from Matt Fleury, the Connecticut Science Center’s President and CEO:

A participant in one of the Connecticut Science Center’s youth programs volunteered to testify on the Science Center’s behalf at a recent public hearing. I was in the audience with her and her mother and grandmother.

She spoke effectively, after which there were some affirming comments from members of the panel. Neither the student, her family members nor I clearly heard Representative Hewett’s comment and we were unaware that anything that could be perceived as offensive had been said until reading news accounts.

Tonight I called Representative Hewett, who emphatically apologized. We believe him to be sincere. We have passed his apology on to the student, and she has accepted it.

We are honoring her desire to maintain her privacy.