Ohio politician Wesley Goodman was considered a man with “conservative credentials” by his peers, particularly after winning his election to the Ohio House of Representatives last year. But the GOP lawmaker resigned last week amid growing concerns that his “family values” politics didn’t match up with his behavior behind closed doors. And now it’s been uncovered that Goodman, who ran on “a committed natural marriage,” allegedly sexually harassed dozens of men over Facebook and Snapchat.
According to the Independent Journal Review, over 30 individuals claimed Goodman harassed them on Facebook Messenger and Snapchat. Goodman would offer to be a “mentor” to college students interested in a political career, then he would begin sexually harassing his targets, according to dozens of sources.
One anonymous source with the Review said he received a Snapchat offer from Goodman, where he quickly began asking him “how much pussy I was getting” and “what I was doing on Friday and Saturday nights.” Goodman’s correspondence reportedly grew in intensity until November 2016, where he began talking about how “his wife was asleep and he was bored.”
“I didn’t reply for about 30 min after opening the Snapchat,” the source told the Review. “Then, he sent me videos of him masturbating as well as dick pics. He also sent another Snapchat asking how big my penis was. I immediately blocked him.”
In another message, Goodman asked a man if he was “ready for the weekend,” continuing that one “can’t beat sitting at home drinking beer in your underwear lol.” Another source allegedly received a picture of Goodman’s genitals. Others were sent unsolicited messages about their privates.
Last week, Goodman resigned from the Ohio House of Representatives after he was reportedly caught engaging in consensual sex with another man in his office. Shortly after, the Washington Post reported that an 18-year-old had said Goodman molested him. The teen’s testimony never became public knowledge, despite the fact that Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said the accusation “will not be ignored nor swept aside.”
Meanwhile, Goodman portrayed himself on his campaign website as a man in a “committed natural marriage” who valued “the ideals of a loving father and mother,” according to the New York Times. Now that sexual assault allegations are levied against Goodman, voters feel angry with conservative leaders who knew about Goodman’s conduct and did nothing to stop the candidate. For them, higher-ups’ inaction was a major betrayal.
“We are so sick of people knowing and doing nothing,” Ohio Citizens PAC president Thomas R. Zawistowski told the Post. “If someone knew, they had an obligation to say something. That’s what you do. That’s how you hold society together.”
Read the Independent Journal Review’s full report here.
