Kettle Charged with Extortion & Voyeurism, Traded Photos with NH Man - Ruggerio Calls for Expulsion
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
GOP State Senator Nick Kettle of Coventry was formally charged in Superior Court on Monday, including extorting sex from a former State House page.
Kettle is also charged under the Rhode Island Video Voyeurism statute, specifically of filming a woman he was romantically involved and sharing those photos with a New Hampshire man. She was unaware of the filming.
Details in Affidavit
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to an affidavit secured by GoLocalProv which was submitted by State Police Detective Robert Hopkins, “On Wednesday, January 25, 2018, Lt. Creamer, Detective Vinton and members of the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit, executed a search warrant at the residence of Mr. Brennan…Detective seized multiple electronic devices, pursuant to a State of New Hampshire search Warrant. Mr. Brennan provided a statement to Rhode Island State Police Detectives, admitting that he exchanged naked images of …his wife, with Mr. Kettle. In return, Mr. Kettle sent Mr. Brennan naked images of [the victim]."
The affidavit also stated, "Mr. Kettle and Mr. Brennan also exchanged images of their own genitals."
On Monday, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio called for Kettle’s expulsion from the Senate, “First and most importantly, my thoughts are with the victims. As President of the Senate, as a father, and as a grandfather, I am absolutely horrified and disgusted by these allegations. We in the Senate are deeply shaken.”
“Upon reviewing today’s indictment and seeing the severity of the charges, I again call upon Mr. Kettle to resign from the Senate immediately. If he refuses to resign, the Senate will pursue his expulsion from the chamber pursuant to the Rhode Island Constitution.”
“The Senate is committed to a healthy and safe working environment for all. I have asked my chief legal counsel to conduct an immediate review of the page program. We have spoken to most of the pages to ensure that they are aware of their rights in the workplace as well as procedures for reporting anything inappropriate.”
Article 6, Section 7 of the Rhode Island Constitution provides for the expulsion of a member of the Senate with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members.
Former Opponent Weighs-in
"This is absolutely terrible. Kettle lacks moral grounding as we have seen with multiple situations. He should have resigned weeks ago so the district wouldn’t go unrepresented. He knew he was in the wrong and what was coming. My heart goes out to the people he has harmed," said Margaux Morrisseau, who ran against Kettle for State Senate.
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