BOY TROUBLE

Mike Yenni’s Teen Accuser Comes Forward About Sext Scandal, Sticks By Story

mike-yenni-alex-diagle

The Catholic school boy who sexted with Republican Mike Yenni of Louisiana is sticking by his story, despite the 40-year-old lawmaker’s recent attempts at discrediting him.

Related: Republican Lawmaker Finally Talks About Sexting With Catholic School Boy, Insists He’s Not Gay

Alex Daigle originally wrote about his affair with Yenni in an article titled I was seduced by a politician published by the blog The Tab earlier this year.

In the article, Daigle does not mention Yenni by name. Instead he refers to him as “Kevin.” He writes about how he met Yenni, er, Kevin at his high school graduation lunch and that the two began sexting back and forth. Diagle was 17 at the time; Yenni was 38. At one point, they met up at a mall bathroom where Yenni allegedly gave him a pair of sexy $75 underpants and a kiss on the lips.

Related: Teen’s Story About Hooking Up With Married Politician Sounds Awfully Like Mike Yenni

After being identified as the politician in the story, Yenni called the article “tabloid” material, adding that “there are a lot of elements of that story that I truly believe are certainly fictional.” He admitted to sending “inappropriate texts,” but refused to elaborate on or admit to anything beyond that.

Now, Daigle, 19 and studying at Brown University, is calling his bluff, accusing Yenni of being a predator and of attacking his integrity.

“The article was in no way meant to be a personal attack,” he said in a recent statement published by The Tab, “but rather an example of dangerous, predatory behaviors within our community that might be overlooked without an active voice making them heard.”

He added that he originally wanted to write the article to “warn others of the risk of older men in power preying upon teenage boys.”

Related: Did Catholic School Where Mike Yenni Met Teen Boyfriend Know About His Lust For Underagers?

The Tab, too, is sticking by the story.

“The Tab is 100 percent confident that the story we published is right,” Editor-in-Chief Joshi Herrmann tells The Times-Picayune. “We don’t publish fiction, and Mike Yenni’s profession that we do publish fiction is utter, utter nonsense.”

Read Daigle’s latest statement, in full, below:

I was pursued by Mike Yenni in the summer of 2015. I stand by my February 2016 article in its entirety. It is factual. My sole intent in writing it was to warn others of the risk of older men in power preying upon teenage boys. I submitted it to a team of editors and media lawyers who considered the article for months and approved it for release. I wanted to release it much earlier than I did, but had strong opposition from my family, who wanted me to retain my privacy. It wasn’t until others beyond my control disclosed my personal information and the details of Mr Yenni’s actions to other media outlets and organizations in the New Orleans area that I authorized the release of the article. I never gave permission to anyone else to share my story, and I could not allow others to use me for their own personal gain, especially without my input being made clear.

“I resent the claim that my article was written with the intent to be ‘salacious.’ The article was in no way meant to be a personal attack, but rather an example of dangerous, predatory behaviors within our community that might be overlooked without an active voice making them heard. Even though others released my name and details about my own private life, I chose not to name Mr Yenni in the original article. Now, Mr Yenni has chosen to deny the facts rather than to admit to his actions, presumably in an effort to protect his own image, and, in the process, has chosen to attack my integrity. I choose to no longer be victimized by Mr Yenni.

Related: A Brief History Of Antigay Politicians Caught Doing Very Gay Things In Public Restrooms

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