header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 29
1928 - Little dam victim, thought unidentified & buried in SCV, actually ID'd & buried in Chatsworth [story]
Newhall Cowboys


| Wednesday, Dec 23, 2020
katie hill sues
Former U.S. Rep. Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce.

 

Former California Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill, whose promising political career unraveled in 2019 after she was accused of inappropriate relationships with staffers and various media outlets published nude and sexually graphic photos of her, said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the world is watching her ex-husband’s “revenge vendetta.”

Hill, who unseated an incumbent Republican as part of the 2018 “blue wave” at the age of 32, claims in the suit filed in Los Angeles that her ex-husband, Kenneth Heslep, orchestrated her political downfall with the right-wing news blog RedState and the British tabloid the Daily Mail after she tried to end their relationship.

In a 34-page complaint, Hill describes a tumultuous 15-year relationship where Heslep controlled her appearance and sleep schedule. He choked her unconscious, said he would kill himself if she tried to leave, and posted nude photos of her on dating websites without her consent, according to the complaint.

Hill said that Heslep physically abused her pets and was unsupportive of her run for office, and when she tried to separate herself from him, he threatened to “blow up” her campaign and told her staff and family that she was suicidal and they should commit her.

“Hill lived in fear that if she ever tried to leave, he’d kill them both and all their animals,” the complaint states.

Despite all this pressure, Hill mounted a grassroots campaign and was able to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Knight.

But all of that would come crashing down due to Heslep and the media outlets that aided him, according to Hill.

After she took office, moved to Washington, D.C. and ended her relationship, Hill says her ex-husband retaliated against her.

“That’s when Heslep’s scorched earth attack began in earnest,” the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court states. “Less than five months after the breakup, naked images of Hill that only Heslep had previously possessed were published globally on the internet, alongside intimate text messages and cruel lies.”

Hill resigned amid an ethics probe after she was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a congressional staffer and the nude photos were published online by the blog RedState. Hill admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a campaign staffer before she was in Congress but denied having any improper relationship with one of her male congressional staffers.

Images and intimate text messages were first published on RedState on Oct. 18, 2019, according to the suit, and the Daily Mail published sexually graphic images soon after. Hill said Heslep was the only person who had access to these images and she characterizes them as “nonconsensual porn” in the suit.

“One local Republican operative said he’d been supplied with a file containing over 700 photos and texts which they intended to release bit by bit until Hill resigned from or was forced out of Congress,” the complaint states. “And sure, enough, RedState continued to publish new material on an almost daily basis, for two weeks, until Hill finally stepped down.”

Hill says former Knight campaign advisor Joseph Messina bragged about having 700 images of her in a public blog post. Messina later told the Los Angeles Times that the images were widely shared and he did not need to distribute the images.

Before the images were made public, Heslep shopped around the photos and an interview with a local news podcast, according to Hill but Heslep denied supplying the photos that were eventually shared on right-wing media outlets like the Daily Wire, Breitbart and the Washington Examiner.

Hill says RedState’s Jennifer Van Laar authored the original post that claimed she had an affair with a male staffer. After Hill announced on Oct. 27, 2019, she would resign from office, Van Laar tweeted a link to Republican Mike Garcia’s campaign. Garcia eventually went on to win Hill’s former seat.

Hill says she was at a low point after she left office and contemplated suicide.

“Hill drank a bottle of wine in the bathtub and attempted to slit her wrists,” the complaint states. “The suicide attempt was thankfully not fatal, but the torment continued.”

While Heslep and Hill divorced in Nov. 2020, he continued to try and sell a story to the Daily Mail about Hill’s sexual, medical and financial history.

Less than a week after Hill got a temporary restraining order against Heslep, the Daily Mail published an article with 26 images, including another nude photo taken without her consent and a photo of her with her brother who died earlier this year.

Hill says the First Amendment doesn’t protect someone’s right to sexually degrade and expose public officials or disseminate nude images.

“Deciding who is allowed to see our naked bodies is an essential right,” the complaint states.

“There’s never a way to litigate privacy in our judicial system without amplifying the very invasions underlying the suit, an inevitable hell that Hill has resigned herself to knowing this further public display may have been defendant’s hope all along,” the complaint continues.

While the nude photos and other painful episodes from her relationship with Heslep may become exhibits in the case, Hill said she has no other options to restore her privacy and dignity and that she has already “given up everything” to escape her ex-husband.

“Here we reset the ideas that abuse in a woman’s past should quash their political aspirations and that public sexual humiliation is an acceptable way to vanquish a political opponent,” the complaint states. “This case pleads that everybody, even publicly elected officials and celebrities, is owed the right to sexual privacy and redress from our courts when they experience intimate partner violence.”

Heslep, The Daily Mail’s parent company, Mail Media, RedState’s owner Salem Media Group, Messina and Van Laar are named in Hill’s complaint.

Hill claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, nonconsensual distribution of intimate images, civil conspiracy to distribute the images and violation of California’s unfair competition law.

Ashley Parris from McElroy Parris Trial Lawyers and Carrie Goldberg submitted the suit.

— By Nathan Solis. CNS

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1928 - Little dam victim, thought unidentified & buried in SCV, actually ID'd & buried in Chatsworth [story]
Newhall Cowboys
Los Angeles County Public Works is updating the Los Angeles County Bicycle Master Plan.
April 16:  County Bicycle Master Plan Virtual Community Meeting
College of the Canyons mens golf got back on track during its return to conference play on Monday, carding a five-man score of 370 to top the eight-team field at Brookside Golf Course and maintain its unblemished conference mark.
Cougars Win Again, Keep Conference Streak
Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, reminds property owners that the second installment of the 2023-24 Annual Secured Property Taxes becomes  delinquent if not received by 5 p.m. Pacific Time or United States Postal Service postmarked on or before Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
County Treasurer Reminds Property Owners of April 10 Due Date
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today unveiled the latest L.A. County Health Survey, which gathers vital data on health behaviors, conditions, neighborhood settings, and the needs of L.A .County residents, informing future public health policies and programs.
Public Health Unveils the 2023 L.A. County Health Survey Findings
Due to the projected rain forecast, Eggstravaganza will now be held indoors at the Canyon Country Community Center beginning promptly at 10 a.m. on March 30.
March 30: Eggstravaganza Now Being Held Indoors at Canyon Country Community Center
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
The College of the Canyons Athletic Department will host a dedication ceremony to unveil the Michele Jenkins Softball Team Room in honor of the longtime board member and ardent softball program supporter’s nearly 40 years of service to the district.
April 16: COC to Host Michele Jenkins Team Room Dedication Ceremony
PFLAG Santa Clarita has announced the establishment of the Peggy and Jeff Stabile PFLAG SCV Scholarship. The scholarship will provide financial assistance to LGBTQIA+ students pursuing higher education and committed to advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights and promoting diversity and inclusion.
PFLAG SCV Announces Stabile PFLAG Scholarship
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
April 20: Santa Clarita Master Chorale’s Cabaret, Cabernet Fundraiser
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
March 27 Ocean Water Warning
As an integral ingredient necessary to help the Santa Clarita Valley to flourish, feedback from the business community is the secret sauce for achieving great things.
SCVEDC Asks For the Business Community’s Opinion on Santa Clarita
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
April 13: Sister Cities Zumba-thon Fundraiser
Remo, Inc. is is the world's leading manufacturer and developer of synthetic drumheads and shells. They’ve been in business for 60 years
SCVEDC Company Spotlight: Drumming Up Big Business with Remo, Inc.
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) and Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland) have introduced AB 3074 the "School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act."
Schiavo Introduces Bill to Prohibit ‘Derogatory’ School Mascot Names
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
March 28: JCOD Incubation Academy Helps Grassroots Non-Profits For the Second Year
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.
April 18: Children’s Bureau Hosts Virtual Orientation
The Sunburst track was constructed in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a part of the main line running between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Enjoy Spring With a Ride On The Sunburst Track
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.
State Superintendent Announces Support for Personal Finance Graduation Requirement
1847 - Probable birth date of Pico Canyon oil driller Charles Alexander Mentry [story]
C.A. Mentry
SCVNews.com