Exposing the Corruption of the "Family Values" Party
Gerald Antinoro is the sheriff of Storey County, Nevada. He has served four terms but did not run for re-election in Nov. 2022, so will be ending his service at year’s end. This is extraordinary considering at least five women have accused him of rape and the county has had to pay hundreds of thousands to settle sexual harassment complaints.
James P. McClusky sentenced a school bus driver who confessed to raping a fourteen-year-old girl to probation, ten years probation, and designated him a Level 1 Sex Offender which meant he was not placed on the Sex Offender registry.
Michael Silvestri had run for mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, and for freeholder position, an archaic title for county elected officials. (It’s been eliminated as of January 2021.) In 2018, he ran for state assembly and was accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault by a campaign worker.
Brian Ellis was at a bar in 2015, a woman had a fall. Ellis was acquainted with her and offered to take her home, but she alleges he took her to his home. The woman was not voluntarily intoxicated, but she was incapacitated. She thinks she was drugged. She sought medical attention the next day, with a concussion and other injuries. She believes she was raped as she was incapable of consenting while incapacitated. She filed a complaint. Ellis denied her allegations, but resigned under pressure. A grand jury declined to indict.
Benjamin Sparks was a Republican consultant for several candidates over the years, even Mitt Romney. Scott Walker, and others. He was accused of abusing and enslaving a woman and was charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic battery. He got his girlfriend to sign a contract requiring her to be his sex slave, wear a…
Mark Patterson was an Idaho state representative. He ended up resigning after it was revealed that he pleaded guilty to attempted rape in 1974. He did not disclose this in his concealed carry permit application in 2007 and 2012 when he renewed. The Ada County sheriff revoked his permit and said he in ineligible for a permit. He was able to carry until he resigned because Idaho legislators exempted themselves from needing a permit.
He called everything a smear and claimed the woman lied. She claimed he raped her twice, threatening her with telling his Doberman to attack if she did not comply. He got a nice plea deal, pleading to attempted rape and got a suspended sentence and five years probation. He claimed it was supposed to be expunged.
Dennis Hof was the Republican candidate for the Nevada Assembly. He was a legal brothel owner. He thought of himself as a Trump-like figure, flamboyant and fond of publicity. He starred in an HBO series called Cathouse and published a copycat book, “The Art of the Pimp.” He had been accused of sexual assault four times, the most recent a month before his death in October 2018. He was also accused in 2005, 2009, and 2011. Prosecutors declined to file charges, citing the statute of limitations, a continuing problem with holding abusers accountable.
He has been accused by several men of raping them when they were minors. In 2017, a man came forward suing Judge Pressler, claiming he was raped by Pressler when he was just fourteen and the sexual assaults continued for decades. As often happens, once one person comes forward, others find the courage to come forward as well. According to court records, he settled with another accuser in 2004. He was successful in getting the suit dismissed because of the statute of limitations, but his accuser appealed and won in the Texas Supreme Court in April, 2022.
Billy Joe Turnage was chairman of Union County Republicans. He allegedly attempted to rape a woman and broadcast it all on Skype. He was charged with sexual battery and criminal attempt to commit rape.
Gregory Nathan Peterson was an activist for the Utah Republican party. Two women alleged he took them to his cabin and raped them. A third claimed he attempted to rape her but gave in when she showed her gun. Two other women claimed he raped them in their homes. He was charged with kidnapping as well as rape. Two days after being released on bail he killed himself leaving a vindictive, self-justifying note.