Eric Deaton, Tea Party-Backed Ohio Senate Candidate, Indicted For Sex With A Minor

Eric Deaton, a Constitution Party candidate running for the seat Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) is vacating (with the help of endorsements from Tea Party and family values groups) has been indicted for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor that he supposedly met at his church.

Deaton responded to the allegations Wednesday, denying charges that he had sexual contact between March 2006 and 2007 with a 15 year old girl that he had first encountered as an elder in his congregation. He also said that he plans to stay in the race despite the timing of the case.

WDTN reports that the Perry Township Police Department believes Deaton tutored the girl and invited her to work around his home. Police also say they have incriminating hotel receipts and surveillance video that will make their case, though Deaton's attorney says this evidence will prove his innocence.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Deaton will fight the charges in court on September 14th.

According to his website, Deaton also likes stamp & coin collecting, firearms, vintage muscle cars and is currently a local Cub Scout leader.

Watch WDTN's report on Deaton's indictment:

Comments

[calmerheads]

01:39 PM on 09/03/2010

The more conservati­ve you are, the more repressed you are, the more your repression reveals itself in unhealthy, and illegal, ways.

Being liberal is so much more fun and healthy!

[HDR]

12:57 PM on 09/03/2010

And being a current Cub Scout leader wasn't a tip-off?!

[unkn1]

01:04 PM on 09/03/2010

Now, now.... leave the Hitler youth out of it.

[1differentdrummer]

11:49 AM on 09/03/2010

Well, at least he wan't masturbati­ng. Besides, she said she was 18.

[drjohnsmith57]

11:43 AM on 09/03/2010

More good christian morals and values at work....he­y wait didn't I say that about Vitter....­....I guess I can repeat myself all day with republican­yteabaggyc­onservatar­ds all day

[bmike]

11:37 AM on 09/03/2010

Tea Party is having bad luck with the people they are selecting.­I use to be Dog Catcher and I eat plenty of nuts for breakfast.­The Blue Dogs will hide, and if I put enough nuts in everything come out of mouth should sound nutty.Sign me up I'm tea party ready.

[henrypapillon]

11:21 AM on 09/03/2010

Now, see, if this guy had not listened to fellow Tea Gagger Christine O'Donnell and ran off a load, he probably wouldn't have got in trouble.

[angrymanspokane]

12:52 PM on 09/03/2010

Laugh of the day, congratula­tions sir.

[henrypapillon]

08:30 PM on 09/03/2010

If you are going to do your best work, you just have to keep the pressure off.

[Valerie Holstein]

11:21 AM on 09/03/2010

This is not a right vs. left issue, it's an innocent vs. guilty issue. And last time I checked, a person was presumed innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Two families are in crisis right now - that of the accused and that of the accuser. How about we all try to take the high round and not compound things with a lot of hateful political rhetoric? There will be time enough for that after Mr. Deaton and his accuser have had their day in court.

[Mag7]

12:37 PM on 09/03/2010

There is the issue though that there is a certain political party (and particular­ly their fringe elements) that believe they have the moral high ground to the extent they can lecture and dictate such morals to the rest of us. And it's not the left. So when these very same moralists turn out to be frauds it needs to be noted.

[unkn1]

01:00 PM on 09/03/2010

And spoil the fun? Sorry, Mother Theresa, not gonna happen.

[WOODSTOCKER51]

10:04 AM on 09/03/2010

.THE THE "THEME FROM DELIVERANC­E"......PL­AYS IN THE TEA PARTY BACKGROUND­........

[CPAwADD]

01:28 PM on 09/03/2010

Cue banjo music -- Give me uhh six?

[WOODSTOCKER51]

10:03 AM on 09/03/2010

..JUST ANOTHER IN A LONG LINE OF "FAMILY VALUES" RETHUGS...­.....

{I GUESS ITS ABOUT WHOS FAMILY YOU "VALUE" AND WHY..LOL.}

[NOV42008]

10:02 AM on 09/03/2010

Bad reporting, could we have the location of the hotel? The hotel receipt should play a big role, if it was near his home, and he could have easily slept in his own bed to save money (conservat­ives). He still need to justify why he would have a minor work around his home, and were they alone? Whether nothing happened, it still is a "RE.TARDED­" thing to do.

[MauricioC]

09:46 AM on 09/03/2010

"Eric Deaton, a Constituti­on Party candidate running for the seat Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) is vacating (with the help of endorsemen­ts from Tea Party and family values groups) has been indicted for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor that he supposedly met at his church."

Running with the help of endorsemen­ts from Tea Party and family values groups? Really?

[Wolfsghost]

08:53 AM on 09/03/2010

Doesn't matter if you are a bagger. Morality waivers come automatic when you are granted bagger status. It comes directly from the Big Guy.

[James Leo]

08:06 AM on 09/03/2010

I think a lot of these revelation­s will not matter in 2010 (its over) but they will matter in 2012 when the public will again realize what Republican government (a contradict­ion of terms perhaps) can accomplish and at whose expense.

[hallowellboy]

08:01 AM on 09/03/2010

It's only a bad thing when it's the OTHER party that has sex with kids.

[Larryjk]

07:59 AM on 09/03/2010

Hypocrite.