A City Council member indicted on charges that he raped a woman in his campaign office has painted himself as a politician who values his family and honesty.

In a campaign flier from 2001, the Republican council member, Dennis Gallagher, says his parents taught him such values as “to put my family, neighbors and community first; that honesty and hard work are rewarded; that education is the great equalizer in our society. I have never forgotten what my parents taught me and I never will.”

A photograph of Mr. Gallagher standing with his wife, Donna, and their two sons appears above the quotation.

The campaign message and public persona Mr. Gallagher adopted as a council member fly in the face of recent charges that the lawmaker raped and sexually assaulted a 52-year-old woman he met at a neighborhood bar.

Mr. Gallagher told a grand jury he had sex with the woman, but that it was consensual, his lawyer has said. Mr. Gallagher has said he has confidence in the legal system and that he will be vindicated.

The secretary of a civic association that has sparred politically with Mr. Gallagher, Christina Wilkinson, described Mr. Gallagher as a “wrap yourself in the flag, mom and apple pie, I love my family” politician. She said the chasm between his cultivated image and his actions make him look like a hypocrite.

A Democratic council member of Queens, Peter Vallone Jr., defended Mr. Gallagher, saying that whenever a conservative champions the sanctity of marriage and falters, he faces more criticism than others.

“Because conservatives champion those values they are held to a higher standard, and that’s not always fair,” he said. “There is an ideal we should all strive for, but very few of us ever reach it.”

Mr. Vallone said Mr. Gallagher has his faults and has admitted his mistake, adding that he is confident his colleague will be acquitted of the charges.

When the City Council voted in 2002 to recognize domestic partnerships of same sex couples who legally registered outside the city, Mr. Gallagher was one of seven council members to vote against the bill. He did not explain his vote during the meeting.

When reached at his home yesterday, Mr. Gallagher said he would not comment.

The managing editor of the Queens Tribune, Brian Rafferty, said Mr. Gallagher has always come across, in print and in public, as a “down to earth, average, blue-collar, family guy.”

“There’s a feeling that his family-values approach probably isn’t going to” help his political career much longer, he said.