LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A socially conservative Nebraska state senator acknowledged Friday that he had cybersex with a woman on a state computer last year, but he refused demands from Gov. Pete Ricketts and the legislative speaker that he should resign.
Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for misuse of state property under a settlement agreement with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Kintner released details of the July 2015 incident after commissioners approved the settlement with a 7-0 vote.
Kintner said he accepted the woman's invitation for cybersex via Skype, an online video chatting service, while on a trip to Boston unrelated to his legislative duties. Kintner said the woman initiated contact about a week before via Facebook, starting with casual conversation.
When the sexual encounter ended, Kintner said the woman tried to extort $4,500 from him by threatening to post a video of him on YouTube. He said he then contacted the Nebraska State Patrol and confessed the incident to his wife, Lauren Kintner, who works as Ricketts' policy research director.
"I don't always make the best decisions, and that's why we're sitting here today," Kintner said at a news conference from his Capitol office.
The Nebraska State Patrol said the woman who contacted Kintner used an email from a Russian domain. Kintner said authorities told him the woman, who spoke French, may have a connection to an Ivory Coast criminal operation, and she is likely beyond the reach of state or federal laws. Kintner and the woman communicated by typing, and their words were translated.
Kintner, an outspoken conservative Republican, has developed a reputation for making inflammatory comments. Earlier this year, he was criticized for comparing his legislative colleagues to monkeys. He also has drawn fire for railing against "homosexual bills" to promote gay rights, and for joking once that women are a mystery to him and don't understand themselves.
Kintner, 55, said he never visited pornographic websites and never had sexual content saved on his hard drive.
Several top policy makers called on Kintner to resign, and Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said he is planning to file a motion to impeach or expel Kintner when lawmakers convene in January.
In a statement, Ricketts said Kintner "should resign his office immediately. Period."
Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley said it would leave a "black cloud" over the upcoming legislative session if Kintner doesn't resign. The Legislature's Executive Board plans to meet Aug. 19 to discuss how to proceed.
Kintner, who came to office in 2013, said he doesn't believe the incident will affect his work as a legislator. He said he doubts his colleagues will impeach him.
"One sin doesn't take away all the stuff I've done in the last three years," he said.
Kintner said he "prayed for a week" with his wife, pastor and legislative staff, and decided that he wasn't going to resign. He said his wife has shown "incredible grace and forgiveness" and that he has given her full access to his computer, including all of his passwords and internet browsing history.
Kintner said he had previously tried to insulate himself from temptation by imposing "very strict" rules on himself when dealing with women. For instance, he said he always kept his door open when one was in his office, and he refused to have late-night dinners with women.
"I thought I was so fool-proof, I was so good, that I could walk to the edge — that I could Skype with a woman and not go over the edge," he said. "That's wrong thinking."