Mayor charged with voyeurism after allegedly sniffing teen girl’s underwear

RICHLAND COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - A mayor in Ohio is facing two counts of voyeurism after he was allegedly caught on camera sniffing a teen girl’s underwear.

Records show that on Jan. 13, a Richland County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was contacted by children’s services after authorities were “sent a video showing an adult male going through [a child’s] bedroom, picking up her underwear and smelling it.”

The following day, a Richland County Sheriff’s deputy and a Richland County Children’s Services representative went to the reported victim’s high school to speak with her about what happened.

According to the records report, she told officials she was suspicious that Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus had been going into her bedroom, so she purchased a small video camera to set up there.

Authorities said the girl told them she received a notification on her phone that motion was detected in her bedroom about 15 minutes after she left for school that day.

When she checked the footage later, she said the footage showed Dingus entering her room and smelling her underwear.

According to the report, the next day, she also received an alert. This time, the girl said the video showed Dingus entering her room, smelling her worn underwear, and touching his groin area over his clothes.

On Jan. 26, the case was forwarded to the Mansfield City Law Director’s office. On Feb. 12, deputies prepared two summonses for voyeurism charges after speaking with Assistant Law Director Rob Sharp. Deputies issued the summonses to Dingus the next day.

Dingus is scheduled to be in Mansfield Municipal Court on Thursday.

The Butler mayor is also facing numerous charges for allegedly running over a man wanted for violating parole in July 2025.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.