The disgraced Ohio lawmaker who campaigned on “family values” — and resigned amid a sex scandal– had a habit of sending explicitly sexual messages to male college students after offering to mentor them, according to a new report.
Former state Rep. Wes Goodman is accused by 30 men between the ages of 18 and 24 of sexual misconduct including soliciting them for sex on social media and sending them photos of his genitals, they told the Independent Journal Review.
Goodman, 33, was also known to troll Craigslist for random gay hookups and resigned last week after reports emerged of him having a consensual relationship with a male member of his staff.
But the GOPer also sought out men on Facebook Messenger and Snapchat, according to screenshots obtained by IJR and published in their report Monday.
The over a dozen anonymous sources told the website that Goodman would reach out to politically active college students with mutual friends in conservative circles and would offer to mentor them before sending them sexually explicit messages.
“Ready for the weekend?” Goodman messaged one man in a published Facebook messenger screenshot. Adding, “Can’t beat sitting around in your underwear lol,” and then, “Can’t beat sitting at home drinking beer in your underwear lol.”
Sources said that the married man pursued them with suggestive messages even after they stopped responding and that if they played along in the slightest way he would move the relationship to Snapchat.
One victim, who said he was targeted in this way, thought he was building a professional relationship with Goodman who seemed “like a solid guy.”
“However, he constantly sent me Snaps and was always commenting on my stories. He also asked how much ‘p—y’ I was getting and wondering what I was doing on Friday and Saturday nights,” the source told IJR. “I started to think something was a little weird.”
One night, Goodman allegedly messaged the man saying his wife was asleep and he was bored on Snapchat.
“I didn’t reply for about 30 min after opening the Snapchat. Then, he sent me videos of him masturbating as well as d–k pics,” the man said. “He also sent another Snapchat asking how big my penis was. I immediately blocked him.”
Goodman seemed unaware that Snapchat messages could be saved and screenshots show Wesley Goodman messaging boys, “I’m so hard,” and “You should be getting your d–k sucked.”
The lawmaker would send photos of his penis on Snapchat and the website published one such image after censoring it, the outlet reported.
One man said he was 17 and living across the country when Goodman first added him on Facebook despite never meeting and messaged him at 2 a.m. for “no reason at all.”
He then messaged the teen to wish him happy birthday and asked how old he was. When the boy responded he was turning 18, Goodman wrote, “the big one,” according to a screenshot.
The men sought out by Goodman told IJR they were afraid to report instances of abuse out of fear of damaging their own careers. Most said they ignored his behavior but one source confronted Goodman after he came onto him in a text message.
“Do you make a pass at all the guys you waiting politics or just certain ones,” the source texted, adding, “You need to get your shit together man. I’m serious you’re playing a shell game.”
Goodman did not respond to the website’s request for comment.
The anti-LGBT lawmaker stepped down last week over allegations of a relationship with a man.
“We all bring our own struggles and our own trials into public life,” Goodman said at the time. “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.”
