Illinois state Rep. Nick Sauer has resigned from his post after an ex-girlfriend claimed that he used her nude photographs on an Instagram account in an effort to “catfish” men.
The resignation came just hours after a Politico report detailed the allegations from Kate Kelly, who used to date the lawmaker. Sauer, a first-term Republican who also serves on a task force to combat sexual harassment, sent a letter to the Illinois House of Representatives’ acting clerk on Wednesday to say he’d be quitting:
“As a result of the allegations by Kate Kelly, a former girlfriend, I have decided to resign my office as the State Representative for the 51st District in the Illinois General Assembly,” Sauer wrote.
“It is important that the citizens of the 51st District be fully represented,” he continued. “My ability to fulfill my obligations as a State Representative and public servant will be affected by the distraction of addressing these allegations. After speaking with my family, I feel it best to step away from my public responsibilities.”
In a complaint Kelly filed with the state’s Office of the Legislative Inspector General, she said he lured men “who believed they were communicating with me” into “graphic conversations of a sexual nature,” according to the Politico report.
Kelly’s complaint reportedly says a man she did not know reached out to her on July 12 via her personal Instagram account to say he’d “been communicating for 4 months with someone pretending” to be her. After that, Kelly says, she wrote to Instagram, who disabled the account, and talked to Sauer about it. Sauer allegedly admitted to everything.
“He came to my house & confessed to catfishing men with my photos for 2 years to at least 8 men. He was unable to provide the names and begged that I let it go,” she reportedly wrote.
Sauer and Kelly could not immediately be reached for comment.
Julie B. Porter, the acting legislative inspector general, could not immediately be reached to confirm details of the complaint from Kelly. Porter told the Chicago Tribune that she was “not able to talk about current investigations, including whether or not a complaint has been filed.”
At present, no charges have been filed against Sauer.