Matthew Pennell has been arrested on 17 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. He is the constituent services representative for Republican U.S. Congressman Tim Huelskamp , and was active in local Kansas politics in 2011. Pennell is being held on $75,000 bond.
Photo: Rep. Huelskamp (left) with Matthew Pennell
“Upon learning of his arrest, the Office immediately placed Mr. Pennell on Leave Without Pay until further notice,” Huelskamp chief of staff Mark Kelly said in a statement. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide further comment at this time.”
The Family Research Council endorsed Huelskamp’s re-election last year.
Rep. Huelskamp was declared the most anti-gay member of Congress in 2012, and has been pushing a bill to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
In 2013, an aide to Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee was arrested on child pornography charges. Police found hundreds of videos in the home of Jesse Ryan Loskarn, who later died by suicide.
Seven 