Wes Goodman was a Republican state representative in Ohio. He ended up resigning when he was caught having consensual sex with an adult man who was not an employee in his office. He’s the embodiment of the anti-gay religious conservative who is secretly closeted, but that does not get him on this list. Consensual sex between adults is not predatory.
However, Wesley Goodman is a sexual predator and many people knew it and covered it up before he was even elected to office.
The Council on National Policy, a 501(c)3, was hosting a fundraiser for Wes Goodman, often described as a rising star. That seems illegal, but it not the focus here. During that event Goodman invited an 18-year-old who came with his parents up to his room after attending another party with Goodman and a group of young men, some of whom were bullied into coming by Goodman. At the end of the night, Goodman invited the young man to his room. He woke up in the middle of the night when Goodman unzipped his pants and began fondling him without his consent. Scared, he ran to his parents and told them what happened.
His parents wrote to Tony Perkins, head of CNP and the Family Research Council. Perkins asked Goodman to step down from his campaign, but when Goodman continued his campaign, Perkins said nothing abou the incident. There was a small e-mail chain of CNP leaders/donors who promised action against Goodman, but they did not go public. They stayed silent while Goodman won election.
After the story broke, dozens of young men came forward saying they had been on the receiving end of unwelcome advances from Goodman. He would reach out to them on Facebook Messenger and Snapchat and offer to mentor them but also send sexually suggestive messages.
Sadly most of the media coverage made his scandal all about being gay and not about molesting that young man, the focus of the Washington Post article.
- Cincinnati Enquirer: Report: Ex-GOP lawmaker fondled teenager at conservative event
- Washington Post: How a conservative group dealt with a fondling charge against a rising GOP star
- Advocate: Dozens of Young Men Accuse Republican Legislator of Sexual Advances
Dayton, Ohio · Monday, November 20, 2017