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Ohio Lawmaker Who Backed Family Values Resigns Over ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Wes Goodman, a state representative, resigned last week amid a sex scandal. CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times

An Ohio state lawmaker who defended conservative policies and family values resigned last week after officials said he acknowledged engaging in “inappropriate behavior” with a person at his office.

The lawmaker, Wesley Goodman, 33, a Republican, was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives last year. He campaigned on states’ rights, trimming the state budget and repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Goodman, who is married, promoted “the ideals of a loving father and mother” and “a committed natural marriage” on his campaign website, which has since been taken down. He worked for Jim Jordan, a congressman from Ohio known for his staunch opposition to gay marriage.

series of reports alleged that for years Mr. Goodman had sought, or engaged in, consensual sexual encounters with men. The Washington Postalso reported on an allegation that Mr. Goodman had groped an 18-year-old college student in 2015.

Clifford A. Rosenberger, the speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, said in a statement that he learned about “inappropriate behavior” by Mr. Goodman on Tuesday and met with him.

Mr. Goodman “acknowledged and confirmed the allegations,” which led to his resignation, the statement said.

Brad Miller, a spokesman for Mr. Rosenberger, said on Sunday that Mr. Goodman several months ago had an “inappropriate interaction” with someone at his office in Columbus, Ohio. He said the interaction was consensual, and there had been no complaints of harassment by Mr. Goodman while he was a representative.

“We all bring our own struggles and our own trials into public life,” Mr. Goodman said in a statement on Wednesday. “That has been true for me, and I sincerely regret that my actions and choices have kept me from serving my constituents and our state in a way that reflects the best ideals of public service. For those whom I have let down, I’m sorry.”

Ohio conservatives had considered Mr. Goodman a rising star, said Tom Zawistowski, president of the conservative Ohio Citizens Political Action Committee, which endorsed Mr. Goodman last year.

Photo

Wesley GoodmanCreditOhio House of Representatives

“We felt that he had some conservative credentials,” Mr. Zawistowski said.

“We don’t have a problem with someone that has a homosexual lifestyle,” he added. “That’s their decision. That’s their right.”

But he said the allegation about an unwanted sexual advance had “tipped the scales.”

The Post, citing letters and emails, reported that conservative leaders knew that Mr. Goodman was accused of touching an 18-year-old in 2015. One of those leaders, Tony Perkins, is the president of the Family Research Council, an advocacy group that says “homosexual conduct” is “by definition unnatural.” He urged Mr. Goodman not to run for office but did not make the allegations public, The Post reported.

Mr. Perkins and media representatives of the council did not respond to emails and phone calls on Sunday.

More men have recently come forward with stories of encounters with Mr. Goodman.

Johnny Hadlock, 33, said in a phone interview on Saturday that Mr. Goodman was working for Mr. Jordan when they met sometime in late 2010 or early 2011. They became friends and would exchange text messages. Mr. Hadlock said some of the texts were “sexual” and “salacious” and that they once had phone sex.

Mr. Hadlock said they continued to exchange Facebook messages until 2014.

Another man, Chris Donnelly, 32, said in a phone interview on Saturday that Mr. Goodman responded to an online ad seeking a sexual encounter that he posted in 2008.

He said Mr. Goodman asked him to keep their meeting secret. But after Mr. Goodman won the Ohio Republican primary in 2016, Mr. Donnelly said he described the encounter to a Republican political operative who promised that officials would speak to Mr. Goodman. It was not clear to Mr. Donnelly what, if any, action had been taken.

“It annoyed me that they didn’t think there was anything wrong with the hypocrisy of it,” he said.

Mr. Goodman, who did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on Saturday and Sunday, is one of several politicians facing accusations of sexual misconduct, harassment or abuse. That list includes Senator Al Franken, a Democrat of Minnesota, who was accused of groping and forcibly kissing a woman in 2006; and the former Alabama state judge Roy Moore, a Republican who is running for a Senate seat and faces allegations of having pursued and harassed several underage girls.

Mr. Zawistowski said that while Mr. Goodman was right to resign given the allegation about an unwanted sexual advance, the rush of accusations in recent weeks felt like a “Spanish Inquisition.”

“It’s all so polarizing, and I think both sides are guilty of it,” he said. “They’re throwing these bombs — who’s the most immoral? Well, as we’re seeing, there’s plenty to go around.”

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