Democratic lawmaker called on to resign for having oral sex with boy, 17, in bushes at public rest stop after meeting him on Craigslist



Representative Kerry Gauthier was found engaging in oral sex on July 22

Police investigated whether or not there was wrongdoing in Duluth rest stop encounter with 17-year-old

Charges were dropped, but political pressure for Representative to resign is mounting

Caught: Police revealed that a Minnesota's Representative Kerry Gauthier had a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy

After police revealed that a Minnesota lawmaker had a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy, both Republicans and Democrats have banded together to ask Representative Kerry Gauthier not to seek re-election.



Representative Gauthier had been hospitalized in the wake of the scandal, denying any and all interview requests.



Charges will not be pressed against the high-profile politician as the sex, which occurred at a Duluth rest stop, was found to be consensual.



'I am deeply disappointed with Rep Kerry Gauthier’s conduct,' Minnesota House Minority Leader Paul Thissen said in a statement to the Duluth News Tribune.

'The conduct was wrong and no one in the DFL House caucus condones the behavior. I expect he will address these issues publicly and soon.'



Previously, Republicans lobbied for his resignation.



'I believe we have given Rep. Gauthier and the Democrat caucus a respectful amount of time to address this situation on their own,' House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, said Friday.



'Rep. Gauthier’s actions are not becoming of a member of the House of Representatives, and today I am calling on him to resign from the Legislature.'



Mr Gauthier was treated for shortness of breath following the public investigation of his interactions with a 17-year-old teen he met on Craigslist.

The two met for a rendezvous on July 22 at the Thompson Hill rest stop around 11 p.m.



The Duluth News Tribune reported that a state trooper happened upon the pair after a report of 'suspicious activity.'



Police reports of the incident reveal that Mr Gauthier, 56, put out an ad for an encounter on Craigslist and the 17-year-old responded.



The two walked to a wooded area behind the rest stop pavilion for five minutes, where they engaged in oral sex and touching, police records show.



Bipartisan: House Minority Leader and fellow Democrat Paul Thissen, left, as well as House Speaker and Republican Kurt Zellers, right, have condemned Mr Gauthier's actions



A trooper approached Mr Gauthier on his way back from the encounter.



'It was at that time I noted his zipper was open and part of his shirt was hanging out. I asked him why his zipper was down and he said he didn’t know,' the officer wrote in his police report. 'I told him to zip it up and leave. The male seemed nervous.'



Then, the trooper said, he saw the teen.



'It was at that time I noted his zipper was open and part of his shirt was hanging out. I asked him why his zipper was down and he said he didn’t know. I told him to zip it up and leave.' State Trooper

'He stated that he had met an older man at the rest area after corresponding with him in a response to a Craigslist ad,' the trooper wrote.



The teen told the police that his parents were unaware of his sexual orientation and begged them not to tell his family of the incident.



Both men said the interaction was consensual and there was no money exchanged. The teen also told police that he lied about his age, telling Mr Gauthier he was 18 years old.



'I think it’s a private matter and I don’t need to talk about it,' Mr Gauthier said to the Duluth News Tribune following the explosive investigation.

