The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation on Congresswoman Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce, involving allegations of sexual affairs with staffers, officials said

After several allegations of sexual affairs with staffers and explicit photos of Hill were released online, the House Committee on Ethics has launched an official investigation into the freshman representative.

“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Katie Hill may have engaged in a sexual relationship with an individual on her congressional staff, in violation of House Rule XXIII, clause 18 (a),” Rep. Ted Deutch, the committee’s chairman, and Rep. Kenny Marchant, the top Republican on the panel, said in a statement.

These allegations, which include an extramarital affair with her legislative director and a consensual romantic “throuple” between Hill, her husband, and a 22-year-old female campaign volunteer who later also allegedly became a paid employee, are reportedly being made by Hill’s estranged husband, Kenny Heslep, as the pair are going through a divorce, according to officials.

Hill, who ran her campaign as a stated bisexual, rebuked these allegations, saying that the accusation that she was having a sexual affair with her legislative director, Graham Kelly, was “absolutely false.”

“I am saddened that the deeply personal matter of my divorce has been brought into public view and the vindictive claims of my ex have now involved the lives and reputations of unrelated parties,” Hill said.

If the allegations are true, Hill could be in violation of Chapter 18 of the Code of Official Conduct posted by the House Committee on Ethics.

“A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, or who is an employee of a committee on which the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner serves,” the rule reads.

The congressional inquiry was launched on Wednesday after Hill called for an investigation into the publication of explicit photos of herself that were posted online without her permission. She notified Capitol Hill police, who are investigating the situation and potential legal violations of those who posted and distributed the photos, according to a statement from the Representative.

“Intimate photos of me and another individual were published by Republican operatives on the internet without my consent,” Hill said. “The fact is I am going through a divorce from an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me. I am disgusted that my opponents would seek to exploit such a private matter for political gain.”

The photos, published on a conservative website called RedState, show an exposed Hill combing the hair of the 22-year volunteer turned staffer.

Any media outlet that published these images could be prosecuted under California’s “revenge porn” law, which states that, “A person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse… under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.”

While clause 18(a) of House Rule XXIII applies to only to staff when a representative is in Congress, the allegations made of the “throuple” relationship could fall under the jurisdiction of the House Ethics Committee if: (a) it persisted while Hill was in office, and (b) the young woman was paid as a congressional staffer at the time.

“The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the House Ethics Committee added in Wednesday’s statement.

Heslep and Kelly were unavailable for comment as of Wednesday evening.

Ed. Note: KHTS will not be publishing any pictures or private texts related to this story for both legal and ethical reasons.

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