BELLVILLE ― The mayor of Butler has been issued two summonses on charges of voyeurism after a camera captured him twice in a minor’s room who lived in the same house until he was asked to leave.
Wesley Dingus, 48, is scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. Feb. 19 in Mansfield Municipal Court on the charges. His appearance is required, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the sheriff’s report, Richland County Children Services passed a complaint to the sheriff. They were sent a video showing a man going into a bedroom, picking up a girl’s underwear and “smelling it.”
The residence is in Bellville, according to the sheriff’s report.
The accuser said she had some suspicions that Dingus was going into her bedroom when she was not home. On one occasion, she said she left for school but returned home after forgetting something, and she found him in her room. She didn’t see him doing anything.
A couple years before, she tried to record her cat on her phone while she took a shower. She said when she reviewed the video, Dingus came in the room and “just stood there for a couple seconds,” the report said.
The accuser said she purchased a small video camera and set it up in her bedroom, according to the sheriff’s report.
On Jan. 13, she left her house around 7 a.m. to go to school. She said about 7:15 a.m. she received a notification on her phone that motion was detected. Upon reviewing the camera footage, she saw Dingus enter her room and start smelling her underwear, the sheriff’s report said.
“Dingus picked up two pairs of worn underwear and smelled them for several seconds each,” the report stated.
The victim said she got a second alert on her phone Jan. 26 about 7:17 a.m.; she said Dingus entered her room again and smelled four pairs of her underwear, two of which had been worn and were in her dirty clothes basket.
Dingus could also be seen touching his groin area over his clothes, the report said.
The accuser said Dingus never touched her inappropriately nor made any sexual comments to her. She said, for the most part, they barely even speak. She said she feels safe in her room, but feels really uncomfortable about seeing the videos, the report noted.
Dingus’ wife was told about the allegations made against her husband, the sheriff’s report said, and cooperated fully.
Deputies also spoke with a second alleged victim who saw the videos.
She was asked if Dingus ever made her feel uncomfortable and she said yes, according to the report. She said Dingus stares a lot and has smacked her butt before.
She said she also thinks he has gone through her underwear because she took her laundry basket to the basement to be washed and her underwear were on the bottom, but, the next day, she noticed her underwear were on the top of the basket. She said she would feel safer at home if Dingus was not there.
Dingus’ attorney James Mayer III left a voicemail for a deputy saying Dingus would not make a statement or come in for the scheduled interview.
The News Journal contacted Dingus Friday, Feb. 13 via email, to confirm or deny rumors that he resigned.
Dingus replied later that day, saying, “No I did not.”
When asked about the charges against him Feb. 18, Dingus replied, “Yah that’s what I hear.”
He said he had no plans to resign.
“We have a village employee named Wes. He took on a new side job and was telling the community on Saturday,” Dingus said. “I believe that’s why some people thought I was resigning.”
Dingus facing court date after running over suspect fleeing from police
The mayor of Butler was arrested Aug. 17, 2025 on a charge of aggravated assault and vehicular assault related to a July 11 incident that gained national attention.
Dingus was incarcerated in the Richland County Jail. Along with the fourth-degree felonies, he was also charged with falsification (a first-degree misdemeanor) and dereliction of duty (a second-degree misdemeanor), according to the indictment. Dingus was held on a $25,000 cash or surety and personal recognizance bond.
Earlier, the Bellville Police Department released bodycam footage of what Dingus said after he ran over a man who had fled on foot from a police traffic stop in the village of Butler.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ohio mayor who ran over man now charged for underwear voyeurism
Reporting by Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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