Lawmaker resigns over text messages sent to 16-year-old girl

HARTFORD, Conn. – A Connecticut lawmaker accused of sending affectionate text messages to a 16-year-old girl has resigned his state House seat.

Democratic Rep. Angel Arce submitted a resignation letter to the secretary of the state Thursday. He said he didn’t want his “presence to be distraction to the very important work that occurs at the Capitol” and did not want his “family, friends and supporters to be burdened in any way.”

The governor and House Speaker had called on the three-term legislator to resign at the beginning of the month, after the Hartford Courant first published a series of text messages the 57-year-old grandfather allegedly sent to the teen in 2015. They included calling the girl “so beautiful and gorgeous.”