Mayor Wesley Dingus Charged After Allegedly Sniffing Teen Relative’s Underwear

Cleveland19

Wesley Dingus, the mayor of Butler, Ohio, was arraigned on Thursday after he allegedly sniffed the underwear of a teenage girl, who, according to a police report, is a “minor relative” in the care of Dingus.

Dingus, 48, was charged on Wednesday with two counts of voyeurism, a misdemeanor. The Richland County Sheriff’s Office says both incidents, which occurred on Jan. 13, were captured on video. The Sheriff’s Office says it was “sent a video showing an adult male going through [a child’s] bedroom, picking up her underwear and smelling it.”

Unauthorized intrusions for sexual thrills are against state law.

“No person, for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying the person’s self, shall commit trespass or otherwise surreptitiously invade the privacy of another, to spy or eavesdrop upon another,” Ohio’s criminal code states.

The underwear in question was previously worn, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.

A magistrate set Dingus’s bond at $10,000 and ordered the defendant not to have contact with the alleged victim. Dingus pleaded not guilty to both counts.

Dingus is no stranger to the Richland County court system. In July, he allegedly hit a man twice with his vehicle. The man was allegedly fleeing a traffic stop when Dingus struck the man. As a result, Dingus was indicted the following month on two felonies – aggravated assault and vehicular assault – and two misdemeanors – falsification and dereliction of duty. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. That incident was also captured on camera. Bond was set at $25,000 in that case.

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