Ohio’s Republican mayor is facing criminal charges after authorities say he recorded the smell of an underage girl’s underwear on a hidden camera.
An incident report from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office details the allegations against Wesley Dingus, 48, who serves as Butler’s mayor. These claims came from a boy staying at his residence.
According to investigators, the teenager hid a small camera in a bedroom in the home. On January 13, she received several motion alerts indicating that the recordings had been captured. Deputies say the footage shows Dingus smelling at least four pairs of underwear “for several seconds” and “touching his groin area on his clothes.”
Richland County Children’s Services made a report to law enforcement the day of the alleged incident, and a deputy later interviewed the girl at her school.
A deputy later contacted Dingus to set up a meeting, but the conversation did not take place after his attorney advised him to cancel it, local news outlet WKYC reported. Authorities arrested Dingus about a month later, on February 13.
Dingus appeared in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty. He was released after posting 10% of a $10,000 bond. Judge Michael Kemmerer ordered him to wear a GPS monitor and was prohibited from contacting the suspect.
Deputies forwarded the case to the local prosecutor’s office on January 26. After consulting with a member of that office, deputies prepared two court summonses charging Dingus with vagrancy, according to Cleveland19. Those summons were delivered to the Dingoes.
Dingus, a registered Republican according to public voter records, will become mayor of Butler in 2022. Then Mayor Joseph Stallard resigned and Dingus was elevated from his role as council president to the vacant position.
Dingus was elected to a full term after receiving 199 votes from the village’s fewer than 1,000 residents.
In August, Dingus was indicted on four counts in connection with an incident in which he struck a fleeing criminal suspect with his car, Richland Sources reported. On July 11, authorities say he saw a man trying to run from police and hit him with his vehicle to prevent him from escaping. Dingus pleaded not guilty in the case and the injured man was expected to recover.
