South Dakota lawmaker resigns over sex with interns

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota legislator who acknowledged having sexual contact with two interns resigned on Monday, saying he regrets his actions.

Republican Rep. Mathew Wollmann announced his resignation in a letter, which was first reported by the Mitchell Daily Republic. The 26-year-old former Marine didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.

Last week, he said both interns were over age 21 and that the contact was consensual. But his colleagues had voted to set up a committee to investigate his actions and were scheduled to meet Tuesday. Majority Leader Lee Qualm told the AP that Wollmann, from the eastern South Dakota city of Madison, informed him in person on Monday that he would resign.

“I have nothing but the greatest respect for those that I have grown so close to these past two years, and even in these early days of the 92nd legislative session,” Wollmann wrote in the letter. “Those that read this should know that it is my wrongdoing that has put this institution in a sour light. Those responsible for me have displayed nothing but the highest honor for this establishment.

In South Dakota, legislative interns are college students, some 21 or older. Legislative rules don’t explicitly ban sexual contact or relationships between lawmakers and interns, although they do prohibit sexual harassment and call on lawmakers to maintain “the highest of moral and ethical standards.”

Wollmann’s public admission came shortly after a legislative committee voted down a new rule — proposed by a lawmaker who had raised questions privately about Wollmann’s conduct — to explicitly bar legislators from sexual contact with interns and pages. One lawmaker who spoke against the change said he felt the current rules were sufficient.