The House Democratic nominee seeking to unseat New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota has acknowledged posing years ago in an explicit advertisement campaign featuring leather bondage gear. 

The nominee, Christopher Gallant, made the acknowledgement Monday, following news reports about the photos that include ones showing him shirtless, wearing a leather collar attached to a chain and in suggestive situations with another man. 

The photos appeared on the site of a bondage apparel company, and they were taken down in 2010, according to Gallant's lawyer, Sara Azari, the New York Times reported. 

Azari said in a statement that the photos were taken during a private, consensual photo session, and they involved Gallant and his then-partner. 

Gallant and the man were in a committed four-year relationship. Gallant was also friends with the owner of the apparel company, and the shoot was intended to be fun and personal, with the understanding the photos could be used in connection with certain products, Azari also said. 

Gallant, 37, is an openly gay military pilot, former air traffic controller and a volunteer firefighter. He is running in the state's First Congressional District. 

In a text to supporters, Gallant said that he is "not embarrassed or ashamed" of the photos. "I have always been unapologetically me. He also said the photos don't make him less qualified to be a Blackhawk helicopter pilot or an air traffic controller.