Matt Wingard had two felony indictments for child abuse and pled guilty to criminal assault against a seven-year-old when he was accused by a former aide of giving her alcohol when she was underage (twenty) and pressuring her to have sex. He put her on his payroll and began an affair.
She also alleged that he drugged her, though she clarified that she believed it but had no proof he drugged her. Many Republicans attacked the woman and called her a liar but Wingard admitted the “affair” while denying coercing her.
In the end he resigned, but four years later, he was back trying to make a comeback. He was opposed in the primary by Right to Life. They sent out a mailer reminding people he was a sexual predator. He sued, but lost even after taking it all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court.
- Willamette Week: A Violation of Trust?
- The Oregonian: Are we Republicans applying a double standard in Matt Wingard case?
- Statesman Journal: Return of Matt Wingard is the ‘shock of the day’
- Willamette Week: Oregon Supreme Court Declines to Hear Former State Rep. Matt Wingard’s Appeal on Defamation Case
Albany, Oregon · Saturday, June 23, 2012