BARRINGTON – In the 98th General Assembly session just before State Rep. Nick Sauer was elected to represent Illinois 51st House District, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a stiff "revenge porn law," making it a Class 4 felony to disseminate private sexual images without consent. The punishment is one to three years in prison, with a $25,000 fine.
According to POLITICO Wednesday, 35-year-old Sauer is being accused by an ex-girlfriend of setting up a fake Instagram account, pretending to be her, and sharing with men nude photos she had sent to Sauer while they were dating.
UPDATE X1: Republican House Leader Jim Durkin says Rep. Sauer will be resigning sometime Wednesday.
According to the complaint filed by ex-girlfriend Kate Kelly with the Office of the Legislative Inspector General and obtained by POLITICO, Sauer used the Instagram account “to catfish other men using my privately shared naked photos. Nick would use this account to direct message men with my photos to engage in graphic conversations of a sexual nature. The men believed they were communicating with me and Nick shared private details of my life.”
Neither the Chicago Police nor the Legislative Inspector General have confirmed investigations being launched into Kelly's allegations, and Rep. Sauer has not yet publicly addressed the accusations.
Sauer, who is unmarried, hails from a comfortably Republican district and is seeking re-election. He does have both Democrat and Independent challengers in the upcoming election.
