Nick Sauer To Resign From Illinois House After Allegation He Used Nude Photos Of An Ex ‘To Catfish Other Men’
Nick Sauer, an Illinois state representative, is expected to resign after allegations that he shared nude photos of his ex-girlfriend in order to “catfish” other men.
As Fox News reports, the Chicago-area Republican is expected to turn in his resignation on Wednesday.
Back in 2016, Sauer began dating Kate Kelly. At first, the couple, who met on dating app Tinder, carried on a long-distance relationship between California and Illinois. As many adults in relationships do, the pair shared intimate photos with each other. In January 2017 Kelly moved to Illinois to continue the relationship.
Unfortunately for Kelly, she says that their relationship didn’t last. In March she learned that he had been seeing other women.
“The man I loved and honored for over two years unfortunately did not exist.”
What’s worse, Kelly says that Sauer was using the nude photos of her in a much more insidious way than they were intended. Specifically, she claims that he made a fake Instagram account and used the pictures to “catfish” other men. “Catfishing,” according to Urban Dictionary, is the practice of pretending to be someone else in order to trick a person into thinking they’re in a relationship with or, at the very least, communicating with the phony persona.
“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.”
Illinois House Republican @Nick_Sauer, who served on a sexual harassment task force, will resign today after he reportedly created a fake Instagram account and posted nude photos of his ex-girlfriend to lure men into "graphic" discussions. https://t.co/2lGE0mRkZN pic.twitter.com/3W2qc0rIF8
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 1, 2018
According to Politico, Sauer confessed to making the fake Instagram account and to using the nude photos of Kelly to catfish other men.
Kelly filed her complaint with Illinois’ Office of the Legislative Inspector General. She has also filed a report with the Chicago Police Department, although as of this writing it remains unclear if any criminal charges are forthcoming.
Criminal charges or not, it appears that Sauer’s political career is over. State House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said in a statement that the state’s legislative body will not interfere with any criminal investigations.
“We should allow the proper authorities to conduct their investigations.”
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, also a Republican, thinks Sauer should step down.
“He should resign. And my understanding is that he’s going to resign and that’s the right thing for him to do.”
On his Facebook page, Sauer described himself as a “pro-growth, Jack Kemp style fiscal conservative.” And on his website, Sauer promised to “lead by example” and to “honor the values of… the people he will represent.”
It is not clear, as of this writing, who will replace Sauer if/when he resigns.
