Who Is Bill O'Neill? The Ohio Governor Candidate Claims He Was 'Intimate' With '50 Very Attractive Females'

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill M. O'Neill, a Democratic candidate who is running for governor, shared a story of his sexual past amid assault allegations against powerful men in politics, media and Hollywood. His aim, it seems, was to defend "heterosexual males."

"Now that the dogs of war are calling for the head of Senator Al Franken I believe it is time to speak up on behalf of all heterosexual males," O'Neill wrote on Facebook. "In the last fifty years I was sexually intimate with approximately 50 very attractive females. It ranged from a gorgeous blonde who was my first true love and we made passionate love in the hayloft of her parents' barn and ended with a drop dead gorgeous redhead from Cleveland."

The post has since been taken down.

So who is O'Neill?

He was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2012 and began serving in 2013. Before that, he spent a decade as an appellate judge on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals.

Before his political life, O'Neill worked as a registered nurse, civil rights lawyer, small business owner and union organizer.

He has run as the Democratic nominee for U.S. representative in Ohio twice but lost on both occasions. In October, he announced his run for Ohio governor but said he would hold his seat on the Ohio Supreme Court until he officially submits his petitions for candidacy.

It was during this candidacy that he decided to announce his sexual exploits, because he was "so disappointed by this national feeding frenzy about sexual indiscretions decades ago," referring to Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, who has been recently accused of forcibly kissing and groping a radio news anchor a decade ago.

He wrote the post to save his opponents "some research time."

Indeed, it did. One of his opponents, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Betty Sutton tweeted that she was "horrified."

"As an attorney I'm appalled at these remarks of @billforohio, a Justice, as a Democrat I'm horrified he would belittle victims of sexual harassment/assault this way and as a woman I'm outraged he would equate sexual assault with indiscretion," she wrote on Twitter. "He should resign immediately."

Another opponent, GOP gubernatorial candidate Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, wrote on Twitter: "There's a very serious conversation going on right now in this country about sexual harassment and @BillForOhio's crass post is ill-timed and dismissive at best. We have to be better than this."

O'Neill hasn't resigned, but Chris Clevenger, one of his campaign staffers, has already left his team.

"Sexual harassment and assault is no laughing matter," Clevenger tweeted. "The next Governor of Ohio must take it seriously to receive my vote."

O'Neill did not immediately respond to Newsweek for a request for comment.