An Illinois state representative who had been appointed to the General Assembly's sexual harassment task force is expected to resign Wednesday after a former girlfriend accused him of creating a fake Instagram account and using nude photos of her to "catfish" other men into "graphic" discussions.
According to a report in Politico, a complaint was filed by the ex-girlfriend of state Rep. Nick Sauer (R-Libertyville) with the Office of the Legislative Inspector General on Wednesday. The complaint alleged that Sauer had created a fake Instagram account to "catfish" other men using her privately shared nude photos.
Sauer's ex, identified in the complaint as Kate Kelly, says Sauer would use the account populated with her photos 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.”
In an interview with Politico, Kelly says she and Sauer began a long-distance relationship in 2016 after they met using an online dating app. She says she moved to Chicago in June 2017 to be closer to him, but the relationship soured after Kelly discovered he was still dating other women.
Following the breakup, Kelly says Sauer reached out to her "randomly" with an apologetic email about how he treated her during their relationship along with several dozen roses. He also promised to reimburse her $2,000 for travel expenses she had run up during the course of their relationship.
It was after that exchange with her ex-boyfriend that Kelly discovered the fake Instagram account populated with her nude photos. She says the only way she found out was after a man previously unknown to her, reached out and let her know that he had been "communicating" with someone pretending to be her.
Kelly says she contacted Instagram to have the account taken down.
State House Republican Leader Jim Durkin issued a statement about the investigation into Sauer.
"The allegations that have come forth against Representative Nick Sauer are troubling. He will be resigning from office today. We should allow the proper authorities to conduct their investigations," Durkin said.
No charges have been filed against Sauer.
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