More than 30 people came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against an Ohio Republican state legislator who consistently touts his faith and anti-LGBT stances.
Representative Wes Goodman, who is married, resigned last week after being caught having sex with a man in his office.
This comes as a surprise to many constituents because Goodman has consistently spoken about "natural marriage" being between a man and a woman. His Twitter bio describes him as "Christian. American. Conservative. Republican. Husband to @Beth1027."
But at least 30 people knew Goodman as a sexual predator. According to the Independent Journal Review, Goodman had a tendency of finding young college students and posing as a friend, asking how he could help them with their careers. After sending them multiple messages, Goodman would begin sending Snapchats and attempting to sext with the young men.
Journalist Caleb Hull is one of the 30 who came forward, and he kept screenshots.
"Wes Goodman, who was just caught having sex with a man in his office, begged me to have sex with him and/or his wife on several occasions while I went to school in Ohio," Hull wrote on Twitter, with screenshots attached of the messages Hull received from the anti-LGBT lawmaker.
"You should be here getting your dick sucked," one Snapchat message read.
"Bet that big cock needs work," another text reads.
There are over 30 accounts that depict the same pattern, according to the IJR. Goodman meets a young man, starts messaging him about his potential career and then begins sending them sexually explicit messages and coercing them into relationships. In one conversation, he told a boy that it "wouldn't be gay if it's just two alphas."
Some of these relationships, like the one that led to Goodman's resignation, were consensual. Some were not.
According to emails obtained by The Washington Post, he brought an 18-year-old boy into his hotel room at a political conference, "unzipped his pants and fondled him in the middle of the night." The boy and his parents told the organization hosting the conference.
Goodman didn't drop out of his campaign. He still won.
Goodman's alleged sexual misconduct went unnoticed for a long time. Newsweek reached out to Goodman for comment, but he did not respond at the time of publication.
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Christianna Silva is a staff writer for Newsweek covering civil rights with a focus on LGBT issues and police brutality. ... Read more
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