‘WE’VE NEVER REALLY CAUGHT UP’

Nebraska Lawmaker Admits He Took Photos of Aide Without Her Knowledge

The staffer found the photos on state Sen. Mike Groene’s laptop—and alleged they had sexual captions.

Female lawmakers in Nebraska are blasting the legislature for how it handled the resignation of state Sen. Mike Groene, who took non-consensual photos of a female staffer. Groene admitted he took the photos—which were found on his computer—but insisted none of them were sexual in nature and that the staffer, Kristina Konecko, was not the only person of whom he had photos. However, Konecko alleged in a complaint with the legislature’s Executive Board that some of the photos were provocative in nature and included sexually charged captions. Groene has denied those claims. Meanwhile, some female lawmakers blamed the scandal on the legislature’s culture. “Our policies definitely don’t protect staff and they don’t protect female senators,” said state Sen. Julie Slama, according to the AP. Some shared stories of how they were told not to go into certain spaces with male lawmakers and how their complaints weren’t properly addressed. “We’ve never really caught up to this decade,” state Sen. Carol Blood said. “When we have concerns and sometimes complaints, the response is usually, ‘Well, that’s just how the person is.’” One lawmaker has asked the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate Groene.