Nicholas Kettle was a Republican state senator in Rhode Island. He was arrested on charges of video voyeurism and extortion after his former long-time girlfriend filed charges. He was also charged with extorting a page by threatening his job unless he had sex with him. He resigned from office.
He shot pics of his then-girlfriend and sent them to a friend in New Hampshire. He took a plea deal and apologized to her in court. He was sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence.
The extorting sex case was dropped for two reasons. The page refused to return to Rhode Island to testify and Kettle produced chat logs of the page and him talking over several months, conversations that were flirtatious and friendly. This was perceived as exculpatory and it well might be. However, there are many examples of people who remained friendly with people who assaulted them because of the power dynamics.
- Providence Journal: ‘You took away all the trust’: Former Sen. Kettle accepts plea deal, apologizes to ex-girlfriend
- Providence Journal: Sex extortion case against ex-senator dropped
