Female Nebraska lawmakers call for change amid photo probe

By GRANT SCHULTE
Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Several female state lawmakers are calling for an overhaul of how the Nebraska Legislature handles sexual harassment investigations following the resignation of a male state senator who admitted he took photos of a female subordinate without her consent. The half-dozen lawmakers on Tuesday recounted their own experiences of being groped, harassed and belittled. State Sen. Mike Groene abruptly resigned on Monday and abandoned his campaign to be a University of Nebraska Regent. The Republican acknowledged Friday that he took photos of the legislative staffer in his office. But he said none were sexual in nature. The former staffer, Kristina Konecko, filed a complaint with the Legislature’s Executive Board in which she described the photos as “objectifying and demeaning.”