Franklin County prosecutors are asking a judge to revoke the bond for a former executive at a reproductive health advocacy organization, saying he violated the terms of his pre-trial release by keeping possessions of a woman accusing him of domestic violence.
Dorian Wingard, 54, is charged with strangulation and domestic violence in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. He posted a $75,000 bond after being charged in May 2024 and has been on pre-trial release since that time.
Wingard is accused of grabbing a woman’s arm during a May 15, 2024, domestic dispute at a Whitehall home. Court records say the woman told officers Wingard had thrown her to the ground and put his foot on the left side of her neck for about 30 seconds. The woman was interviewed at an area hospital where she was getting treatment, court records say.
Wingard had been the chief operating officer for Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT) at the time of his arrest. Prior to his arrest, Wingard identified himself as a co-founder of the group, but court records say Wingard was not involved with the organization when it was founded in 2017 and joined as a “self-designated Chief Operating Officer” in 2020.
The organization’s board of directors fired Wingard after his arrest, court records say.
As part of his firing, the board demanded Wingard return any property of the organization that he still had, according to court records. Wingard did not return a vehicle belonging to ROOTT, court records say, despite multiple demand letters sent over several months.
Wingard is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a felony, in a separate case.
Part of Wingard’s pre-trial release conditions included an order requiring him to have no contact with the alleged victim in the domestic violence case or with ROOTT or its employees. Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Lenert wrote in a motion that Wingard still had several of the victim’s personal belongings that he was supposed to have returned.
Lenert’s motion also accuses Wingard of having direct contact with employees of ROOTT.
The motion asks Common Pleas Court Judge Karen Held Phipps to revoke Wingard’s pre-trial bond or significantly increase it until his trial. A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 4, but it was rescheduled for Sept. 10.
If Wingard’s bond is revoked or increased, he will be taken into custody and held at the Franklin County jail until the bond is paid or a resolution is reached in his case. Wingard is scheduled to go to trial in October.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@gannett.com or on Bluesky at @bethanybruner.dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former ROOTT executive violated pre-trial bail terms, should be jailed, prosecutors say
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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