A disgraced Ohio lawmaker, who was an outspoken LGBT opponent, had been sending male college students lewd messages and naked photos before he was forced to step down over claims he had sexual relations with a man in his office.
Former state Rep. Wes Goodman, who is married to wife Bethany and consistently touted his view that ‘natural marriage’ was between a man and a woman, would also allegedly trawl Craigslist for random gay hookups.
Goodman was confronted about rumors he was gay by Ohio House officials over the summer after they were being presented with screenshots of his private messages discussing sex acts with men, Brad Miller, spokesman for the GOP House caucus and Speaker Cliff Rosenberger of Clarksville, told The Dispatch.
In one of the Facebook messages, he wrote: ‘I have a couple of bi frat brothers so thankfully getting (oral sex) isn’t that hard lol.’ The Facebook shots show a photo of Goodman and his wife as the profile picture.
The 33-year-old conservative Christian denied the messages were his and claimed that ‘fake screenshots were being circulated,’ Miller said.
But now around 30 men have come forward, aged 18 to 24, to accuse him of trying to solicit them for sex and sending them photos of his genitals.
Ohio lawmaker Wes Goodman (pictured with his wife Bethany), who was an outspoken LGBT opponent, had been sending male college students lewd messaged and naked photos before he was forced to step down over claims he had sexual relations with a man in his office
Goodman would allegedly send lewd messages through Facebook and text in which he would proposition college-age men for sex
Goodman would often reach out to the college students on Facebook messenger under the guise of mentoring them, the Independent Journal Review reports.
The former state representative would then invite them to connect over Snapchat where they say the conversation became sexually explicit.
‘I’m so hard,’ he reportedly messaged one man. While to another, he wrote: ‘You should be here, getting your d**k sucked.’
‘I bet that big c**k needs work,’ he messaged another.
One man, who has not been named by the newspaper, said Goodman had reached out to him in the fall of 2016 where he had begun by discussing their political ambitions and different conservative movement organizations.
The individual, who is straight, said he accepted Goodman’s invitation to connect on Snapchat but became increasingly uncomfortable with the increasingly sexual tone of his messages.
In November 2016, Goodman began messaging about how his ‘wife was asleep and he was bored.’
‘I didn’t reply for about 30 min after opening the Snapchat,’ the man said.
‘Then, he sent me videos of him masturbating as well as d**k pics. He also sent another Snapchat asking how big my penis was. I immediately blocked him. He later [messaged] me on both Instagram and Facebook leading me to block him on both apps as well.’
Caleb Hull, a conservative journalist, alleged that he had also received lewd messages from Goodman, in a series of tweets.
‘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, alleged on his Twitter account on Saturday.
He continued: ‘He did this to dozens of college political activists in Ohio that I know as well.
‘He was with us at a bar during a Turning Point USA conference and left early, but forgot to pay his bill.
‘One of the people in our group texting him asking what his room number was to charge it to his room and he told him the number.
‘Then my friend told him that he had charged his room.
‘And then he replied with something like “oh I thought you were coming up to have some fun with me and my wife. She’s asleep but I’m horny”.’
Other anonymous sources complained that they too had received pictures of Goodman’s genitals, and photos of him drinking beer in his underwear.
He would always send such messages via Snapchat which automatically deletes them after a few seconds. However, some quick-thinking recipients used another device to take a photo of the messages before they disappeared.
Another source said the representative had reached out to him out of the blue when he was just 17 and living in another state.
When asked why he’d message him, the politician replied: ‘No reason at all. Like to say hi and encourage other folks in the fight to keep going and stay strong.’
Republican state Representative Wes Goodman
He later messaged the teen ‘happy birthday’ when he turned 18, telling him it was ‘the big one’.
The journal reports that several college students and activists were invited to go skinny dipping alone with Goodman in a hot tub.
One man said Goodman had invited him to dinner when he was 22 and just got his first job in DC, during which he’d brought up the idea they jump into the University Club’s hot tub and ‘insisted we be naked since there were ‘no girls allowed’ there.’
He declined.
Most of the men contacted by Goodman said they’d been too afraid to come forward for fear of damaging their own careers.
The Washington Post has also reported, based on emails and documents that they obtained but have never been made public, that Goodman allegedly groped an 18-year-old college student after a 2015 fundraiser near Washington, D.C..
Goodman allegedly unzipped the 18-year-old’s pants and began to fondle him, prompting the boy to bolt from the room at about 4am.
The terrified teen told his parents, who then demanded that the head of a conservative organization which was hosting a conference at the time remove Goodman.
That led to Goodman’s departure from the Council for National Policy.
‘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 (Bethany Goodman, seen right) on several occasions while I went to school in Ohio,’ Caleb Hull (left), a conservative journalist, alleged on his Twitter account on Saturday
In public, he was a family values conservative – a far cry from the behavior he allegedly displayed in private, according to Cleveland.com.
The website interviewed three people who say they knew Goodman during the time he worked in the capital.
Before being elected to the Ohio state legislature to represent Cardington, Goodman worked in Washington as an aide to Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the most conservative politicians in the country.
Goodman also worked for the Conservative Action Project, an organization made up of economic, social and national security conservatives.
He served as managing director of the organization, leading ‘the fight for conservative principles like balanced budget, lower taxes, repealing Obamacare, life, and religious liberty,’ his site says.
His website also clearly outlines his belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman, and he has relied on these conservative values to bolster his political message and relate to voters.
‘The ideals of a loving father and mother, a committed natural marriage, and a caring community are well worth pursuing and protecting,’ the site says.
Yet the messages, and many people who have come forward in the wake of the scandal suggests he was living a secret life.
While Goodman allegedly privately pursued men sexually, in public he was a staunch supporter of anti-LGBT legislation
Cleveland.com spoke to Johnny Hadlock, who was working as an aide to another Republican congressman on Capitol Hill and met Goodman in 2010.
During their conversations, Hadlock revealed to Goodman that he was a closeted homosexual.
He told Cleveland.com that soon afterward he and Goodman began exchanging explicit text messages that included sexting and gay banter. Their conversations even escalated to phone sex, according to Hadlock.
‘Wes never sexually harassed me – we both knew what we were doing and we were both fine doing it,’ Hadlock insisted.
In 2012, Hadlock went to work for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. He says he is currently employed at a Washington, DC non-profit organization.
Hadlock and Goodman last communicated with each other in 2014.
In Facebook chats, Goodman would allegedly reveal to Hadlock that he was in his underwear and would also ask Hadlock if he was aroused.
Hadlock says the relationship never got physical.
Cleveland.com also quoted Chris Donnelly, who said that in 2008 he and Goodman had sex after Goodman responded to a classified ad on Craigslist.
Donnelly used an alias on Craigslist and described himself as ‘straight/curious’ who needed to be discreet.
Goodman resigned Wednesday amid allegations of inappropriate behavior with another man in his office. The 33-year-old is pictured with his wife, Bethany Goodman
‘Maybe we can hang and see what’s up, no expectations really,’ Goodman’s alleged response read.
‘But your post seemed cool so let me know bro.’
Donnelly said that Goodman was ‘all over Craigslist.’
‘It became a running joke between me and my gay friends on Capitol Hill,’ Donnelly said.
‘It’s not like it was some one-off thing.’
Both Hadlock and Donnelly said they voluntarily spoke to Cleveland.com because they were disappointed that while Goodman pursued sex with men, he was politically promoting legislation that the LGBT community had opposed.
In 2009, Goodman was a staunch supporter of Jordan’s Defense of Marriage Act, which sought to overturn a local law allowing same-sex marriage.
In May 2016, Goodman won a seat in the Ohio State House of Representatives.
Though there were rumors of his secret life, top Republicans felt that without a specific allegation there wasn’t any action they could take.
Hadlock said he didn’t believe Goodman deserved privacy given the positions he has taken in his political career as it relates to gay rights.
‘My hope for Wes is that he can now pursue an authentic life and be happy, whatever that means,’ Hadlock said.
Goodman resigned his seat this week after he was caught in his government-provided office engaging in ‘inappropriate behavior’ with an individual who was not employed by the government.
The only existing details about the behavior are that it included a male in a consensual situation, and took place several weeks ago in his state-provided office.
No harassment complaints have been filed against the 33-year-old.
Goodman confirmed the initial allegations in a statement on Wednesday.
‘We all bring our own struggles and our own trials into public life,’ he said.
‘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.’
Goodman did not respond to reporter’s request for comment.