Reports: Hultgren fires aide Provenzano after sexual encounter with teen boy

Nick Provenzano, a former McHenry County Board member and an employee of U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, was fired Monday after he was caught by police in a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy, according to reports.

The McHenry police report obtained by the Northwest Herald and Politico says police found Provenzano with the boy on a dead-end street in an SUV with the headlights turned off. Provenzano was reportedly shirtless and the boy later told police the incident was "sexual" in nature - although Provenzano reportedly told police the two were merely "hanging out."

Provenzano served on the McHenry County Board for 12 years and resigned in 2016 to work for Hultgren, a Republican from Plano, full-time. Hultgren is the U.S. Representative from Illinois' 14th congressional district, which includes parts of DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Will and DeKalb counties.

Provenzano was fired from Hultgren's office Monday, according to the report. Hultgren's office didn't respond to requests for comment.

Provenzano reportedly declined to give a statement to police and has not been charged with a crime. The age of consent in Illinois is 17, and both Provenzano and the boy reportedly told police the incident was consensual.

According to the report, Provenzano and the boy met on the gay dating app Grindr and the boy asked Provenzano if he wanted to meet. Although Grindr's terms and conditions require all users to be 18 years or older, the boy reportedly told police he used his actual birth date on the app, which automatically changed his age to 18.