Democratic. Rep. Gauthier, 56, claims rest-stop oral sex with Craigslist boy, 17, was consensual

By Aaron Rupar Fri., Aug. 17 2012 at 7:39 AM

Rep. Kerry Gauthier, D-Duluth, won't face charges for having oral sex with a minor at the Thompson Hill rest stop near Duluth, but at the least he's revealed himself to be a dishonest person, lying to the 17-year-old about his age and to police about what exactly happened in the woods that night.

When contacted by a police officer and asked about the allegations last month, Gauthier initially said: "I don't know what you're talking about." In a police report, the officer writes, "At this point I felt that Gauthier was not going to be honest with me." The officer then informed the first-term legislator that police had already gotten the details about the sexual encounter from the boy himself.

Gauthier, 56, was then a bit more forthcoming, telling the officer that he met the boy through an ad he posted on Craigslist. In the ad, Gauthier characterized himself as a 43-year-old looking for man-on-man sex with "no strings attached." His ad received a receptive reply from the unnamed 17-year-old, who allegedly told Gauthier he was 18. The dynamic duo agreed to meet at the Thompson Hill rest stop for sexual relations.

They met on the night of July 22 and headed for the woods for fondling and a five-minute oral sex session. Spooked about the possibility of being busted, Gauthier and his boy tryst decided to end it there, and the whole incident might never have been publicized had it not been for the boy's decision to take a leak right next a couple eating dinner in a car. The couple called police to report "suspicious activity," and when authorities arrived Gauthier was still there.

The responding officer, in a police report, writes that he drew his gun on Gauthier, who approached him with his hand in his pocket. "I told him he shouldn't walk up to us with his hand in his pockets," the officer writes.

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

A short time later, the officer came across the 17-year-old. Though he initially denied that he was up to any funny business, the teen eventually spilled the beans and admitted "he had met an older man at the rest area after corresponding with him in response to a Craigslist ad." The boy explained he hadn't yet told his parents he's gay. The officer, putting two and two together, got Gauthier's cell number from the boy, and police contacted him on July 31.

The teen initially said he was 18, but the officer wasn't buying it. He wrote that he could tell the teen was younger than he said "just by looking at him."

(Click to page two for more)