House leaders warned Goodman about conduct
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Several months before his Nov. 14 resignation was demanded for allegations of improper conduct with a man in his Riffe Center office, senior Ohio House officials met with Rep. Wes Goodman to discuss “rumors and innuendo he was gay” and warn him not to have inappropriate contact with House staff.
The House chief of staff and chief lawyer met with Goodman in early summer after a non-House employee provided computer or cellphone screenshots implying Goodman “was gay and not faithful to his wife,” a House spokesman told The Dispatch on Monday evening.
Goodman, a Cardington Republican who touted his conservative and pro-family values, denied the allegations and said “fake screenshots were being circulated,” said Brad Miller, spokesman for the majority GOP House caucus and Speaker Cliff Rosenberger of Clarksville.
“During the meeting, Goodman was warned against having inappropriate interactions with staff and told ... that inappropriate communication with any staff (member) would not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Miller said. The screenshots provided to the House show an electronic exchange purportedly involving Goodman (a photo of him and his wife are included with each entry) that includes an invitation to the other person to come to Columbus. "Dude, I'd love that. Wine, cigars, and hottub lol," the former state representative is depicted as saying in a text message.
Goodman is shown saying via Facebook Messenger, "I have a couple of bi frat brothers so thankfully getting (oral sex) isn't that hard lol."
The misconduct by Goodman in his Riffe Center office did not involve Statehouse staffers or other members of the legislature, Miller has said. Goodman has not responded to requests for comment nor have House officials provided further details or records.
The Independent Journal Review website reported Monday that a man it did not identify had “shared graphic screenshots of Goodman with House staff and was told that the situation would be handled."
Miller declined to identify the man who provided the screenshots.
"These were provided by someone who does not work in the House, nor was there any indication by the source that these communications involved anyone who worked in the House. Finally, the other person communicating with Goodman in these screenshots is unknown," Miller said.
The man described himself as a “former political aide with friends in the administration of the Ohio House.” The website’s story, based solely on anonymous sources, said its reporting on sexual misconduct by Goodman was based on over 30 men who described “inappropriate” sexual approaches.
“I received a phone call later indicating the (chief of staff) and legal counsel would be addressing this issue” with Goodman, the website quoted the man as saying. The part of the article concerning the man’s allegations was deleted from the article later Monday without explanation. The article was written by an employee of the website who claimed Goodman had inappropriately approached him, too.
Miller said House leaders responded quickly when the new allegation, which had happened a few months earlier, was revealed a week ago.
“As was evidenced last week, when a substantive allegation was brought forward regarding inappropriate behavior in Rep. Goodman’s office, the speaker met with Goodman and called for his resignation all in the same day,” Miller said.
“Prior to that, there were no verbal or written allegations of harassment brought forward against Rep. Goodman by any House employees, pages or interns,” he said.
The Washington Post reported last week that an 18-year-old college student who attended a 2015 fundraiser for Goodman near Washington was invited to Goodman’s hotel room, where he fell asleep and awoke to find Goodman unzipping the young man’s pants and fondling him, according to emails it obtained. Thursday is Thanksgiving. Because of the holiday:
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There is no trash collection in Columbus on Thursday. For residents assigned a trash- color code, your collection schedule will rotate one weekday forward until the next holiday, which will be Monday, Dec. 25 for Christmas. For those without a color- code designation, trash pickup will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week, with Thursday collection on Friday and Friday on Saturday. Rumpke biweekly recycling and yard- waste service also will be delayed by one day the rest of the week, with Thursday's collection on Friday and Friday on Saturday. Regular trash pickup for those without color codes and regular bi- weekly recycling and yard- waste collection will resume the week of Nov. 27.