State Drops Extortion Charges Against Former Coventry Senator

COVENTRY, RI — The state of Rhode Island has dropped blackmail and extortion charges against former Coventry State Senator Nicholas Kettle. On Thursday, Attorney General Peter Neronha said new evidence made it impossible to pursue the case.

"In light of new evidence in State of Rhode Island v. Nicholas Kettle – specifically communications between the victim and the defendant that have been verified by this Office – the state is unable to meet its required burden of proof and continue the prosecution of this case," Neronha said in a statement. "Furthermore, the complainant has indicated he would not return to Rhode Island to testify in this matter."

In February of 2018, Kettle was indicted on two charges of extortion and blackmail. According to the Attorney General's office, Kettle sent texts to a man in 2011 threatening to hurt him if he refused to have sex with him. Kettle denied the charge.

Kettle was scheduled for trial beginning Sept. 9. On July 26, Kettle rejected a plea deal that would have kept him out of jail, WJAR reported.

At the time of the indictment, Kettle, a Republican, was serving as the state senator for District 21 in Coventry.

The unidentified accuser was a member of the statehouse page program. Following the scandal, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio called for a full review of the program. Kettle's lawyer argued that the accuser was a political foe who ran against Kettle in 2014 and lost.