Once-rising Democratic star Rep. Ruben Kihuen made repeated and unwanted sexual advances toward a female lobbyist while he was a state senator, the woman told The Nevada Independent.
The woman, who requested anonymity because of concerns about being identified and the possible consequences in Nevada’s small political world, says that Kihuen touched her thighs or buttocks on three separate occasions without her consent. She also showed the Independent hundreds of suggestive text messages she received from Kihuen — including invitations to come sit on his lap in the middle of a committee hearing and repeated requests to spend the night at her place — over the course of the 2015 legislative session.
Once, he texted her to ask,“What color are your panties?” When she wouldn’t tell him, he said it “Makes me sad ” and that “My day can’t go on without knowing.”
She rejected outright, ignored or otherwise attempted to rebuff his persistent advances. The behavior was a continuation of what transpired in the 2013 legislative session, when he sent her dozens of Facebook messages.
Citing privacy concerns, the woman allowed the Independent to transcribe the contents of the text messages but not publish the screenshots of the exchanges. She said she saved the text messages on her old phone partly for her own proof to preserve her side of the story.
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