On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, former California US Representative Katie Hill sued her ex-husband (Kenneth Heslep), and media outlets Daily Mail and RedState.
In her lawsuit, she accuses that Heslep provided the media outlets “sexually graphic” photos of her and the outlets published them online in multiple articles.
Hill claims her life was “irreparably altered by the abuse and nonconsensual dissemination and publication of her intimate images.” She calls the published photos “nonconsensual porn.”
Hill had to resign from her House seat in 2019 when the photos were published. She was separated from Heslep at the time, and was accused of having an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. She denied the accusation and wanted to have a House investigation to disprove the allegations, but with the publishing of the photos, she had to resign.
Hill met Heslep when she was teenager. They married in 2010. She was 23 years old. She was 32 when she was elected to Congress.
In court documents, Hill claims Heslep had caused her “physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and psychological. She also alleges that he threatened her with guns, abused her pets, and sexually coerced and choked her.
On December 8, 2020, Hill filed a restraining order against Heslep for domestic violence and an injunction against Heslep against future posting of photos. She received a temporary restraining order, and she and Heslep are to return to court on December 30, 2020 to determine whether to the time frame of the Order should be extended and whether to invoke an injunction against Heslep.
In her lawsuit, Hill states that posting of the sexually explicit photos without her consent caused her extreme emotional distress causing her to attempt suicide and suffer continual harassment from the media and the public.
In her lawsuit, beside the injunction, Hill seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.