In yet another blow to public trust in local leadership, the mayor of the quiet village of Butler in Richland County is staring down serious criminal charges after allegations that are as shocking as they are disturbing.
Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus has been charged with two counts of voyeurism after authorities say he was captured on video inside a teenage girl’s bedroom engaging in grotesque behavior that has stunned this tight-knit Ohio community.
According to records from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, the case began unfolding on January 13 when Children’s Services contacted law enforcement with alarming evidence. Officials reported they had been “sent a video showing an adult male going through [a child’s] bedroom, picking up her underwear and smelling it.”
The following day, a sheriff’s deputy and a representative from Children’s Services visited the girl at her high school to get answers. What they heard painted an even more troubling picture.
The teen reportedly told investigators she had grown suspicious that Dingus had been entering her bedroom without her knowledge. Trusting her instincts, she purchased a small video camera and installed it in her room.
On January 13, she left for school around 7 a.m. Fifteen minutes later, her phone pinged: motion detected.
When she reviewed the footage, investigators say she saw Dingus enter her bedroom and begin smelling her underwear.
But it didn’t stop there.
The next morning, at 7:17 a.m., another alert. According to the report, the video once again showed Dingus entering the room. This time, authorities say he not only smelled worn undergarments but also touched his groin area over his clothing.
After deputies conducted additional interviews and continued their investigation, the case was forwarded on January 26 to the Mansfield City Law Director’s Office. On February 12, after consulting with Assistant Law Director Rob Sharp, deputies prepared two summonses charging Dingus with voyeurism. The summonses were issued the following day.
This is hardly Dingus’ first brush with the courtroom.
The embattled mayor is already facing multiple charges stemming from a July 2025 incident in which he allegedly ran over a man who was wanted for violating parole. That case remains unresolved, adding to mounting concerns about judgment and accountability.
