Lorain/Elyria, OH
BREAKING NEWS — Barrett resigns over nude photo
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State Rep. Matt Barrett has resigned his post because he was not truthful about a photo of a topless woman that Barrett accidentally showed to a Norwalk High School class last fall, Ohio House Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty announced today.
Beatty, D-Columbus, asked for the resignation Wednesday night after learning about the deception by Barrett, D-Amherst, said Democratic spokesman Phil Saken.
“It’s a disappointment,” Saken said. “It’s become clear that he had not been forthright with his colleagues.”
Norwalk Law Director Stuart O’Hara said today that an investigation by Norwalk police into the incident had been completed and he is seeking a special prosecutor from outside Barrett’s district to decide whether Barrett, an attorney, should be charged.
It’s unclear what the investigation determined. A preliminary probe by the State Highway Patrol last year indicated that one of Barrett’s four children, likely a teenage son, was responsible for the image on the thumb drive the state representative plugged into his laptop during his presentation.
State Rep. Joe Koziura, D-Lorain, said the Ohio Democratic Caucus will name Barrett’s replacement. Koziura said he hadn’t seen the resignation coming. “That’s unbelievable,” he said today.
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So am I lead to believe that high school students have never seen a topless woman? I know parents live in a fantasy world where their children are pure and innocent but let’s get real. I do not know former State Rep. Matt Barrett but accidents happen and I am sure he panicked when it showed up on the screen. Does that really require him to step down? Every other State Rep. is living a perfect life?
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I can’t recall what the ‘deception’ was. Can’t imagine it was so bad as to warrant this. I don’t believe he should have been asked to resign. The guy had no idea his son put the photos on there. Those Norwalk high school students aren’t Victorian Era innocents too embarrassed to even show an ankle. Guarantee they’ve all seen photos/videos of topless women at some point in their lives. I wonder if the school had an army of crisis counselors march in to treat the traumatized kids who will be forever damaged from seeing breasts. Give me a break!
Now this man, who probably longs for the days of chastity belts, Stuart O’The Horror is seeking a special prosecutor (Sex Crimes Division?) to determine if Mr. Barrett should be charged. Why is he so hell bent on ruining a man’s career?
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They have got to be joking? over a picture? to teenagers? last year? and it took them this long to do an investigation, after lets see the picure to see if it warrant ruining a career over a picture…. to teenagers…. in this time…..lol
Was the picture of the topless woman, a student there at Norwalk… then maybe asking for an investigation is okay… but his son would be definitely grounded since he probably put it on there…
They’re joking right? thats right the Democrats ask for a Democrate to resign…. now I got it… Its a polictial joke!!
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Unbelievable! With all the other things going on they are takeing a stand on this? I guess that’s politics for you.
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Momma always says stupid is as stupid does… I hope that picture wasn’t of my girl Jenny.
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A nude picture requires resignation? what about our chief law enforcement officer, Marc Dann - when is he going to resign over the sexual harassment that he allowed to occur at his Columbus apartment?
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Mr Miller
The ‘deception’ was that former State Rep. Matt Barrett blamed his teenage son for the picture being on his computer.
I still stand by how many of these high school students are at home after school surfing in the internet or looking through dear ol’ dad’s closet for old playboys. Looking at topless women isn’t that what teenagers do?
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How silly! He should not step down for this. Is he being forced to?
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I have to disagree with each of you. He is stepping down because he lied. He would have continued to lie had the investigation not uncovered the truth. He could no longer hide from it. What kind of man doesn’t accept responsibility for his actions, and blames a child instead? I call that type of man a coward and I do not want him in a position of leadership.
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It’s a freaking picture…not a life or death situation… even if it was a pic he had loaded…. unless it was a picture of an underage girl or even one of him…. it’s not a career ending issue…
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I think the resignation was called for regarding his lying about the true reason the picture was there. He was blaming it on his son from what I’d initially heard and then that excuse was found to be untrue - somehow.
President Clinton lied under oath and Republicans called for his resignation and impeachment. Why should this be treated otherwise?
I don’t condone showing nudity to highschool MINORS, however I don’t know if it became a firing offense or a forcible retiring one until he lied about the reason for that picture being there.
Sometimes I think people deliberately do things to sabotage their own lives and this sounds like something that he regretted after it was done, only it was too late.
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I’m amazed at just how far we are willing to justify this not needing to end his career.
If your children - your minor-aged teenage children - were in that classroom that day, would that change your mind? If it were a teacher at your child’s school, would that change your mind?
I’m surprised at how apathetic we are until it’s our own children being subjected to pornography. Let’s call a spade a spade here. This was no Renaissance painting done by the famous painters of ore, this is a picture of a naked woman that had nothing what-so-ever to do with the man’s presentation.
On top of it, he lies and blames his son for the picture being there. To me that’s reprehensible in the extreme.
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If my high school son was in the classroom, he’d probably tell me a funny story about this Representative who came to their and accidently got flashed by a set of boobs, or a topless women, etc. A quick apology to the parents and the matter is settled.
Now if my elementary daughter was the classroom, little more tender subject to discuss with her, but still a quick apology and the matter is settled. Sure she wouldn’t suffer mental anguish, or need therapy…
Teen’s even preteens are EXPOSED body parts on the TV, than in the classroom. Remember they use to not show bra’s with women wearing them on TV? Ever see a Movie, watch cable? Unless it’s a G movie there’s going to be BOOBS in it on time or another. Even G movies have adult humor in it most of the time; look at some of the Disney movies, kids might not get it but the parents that take their kids do.
A lot of people are up tight when it comes to sex in any way, shape or picture, etc. If parents were teaching their children at home correctly, the schools wouldn’t be pressured to teach sex education. Sure teach abstinence, but also give our Son’s and Daughter’s the correct knowledge that if they play with fire they can get burnt if they don’t use the right protection. Most teens already know what both versions have male and female. It’s our jobs as parents to teach them what to look out for, and what is or isn’t appropriate. Was this computer oops meant on purpose? No.
Even the Cruise Industry has topless sunbathing, usually it’s the Europeans up there, since most of us are comfortable with it yet, and why aren’t we?
Mr. Barrett lied, so he put the picture on the thumb drive, bad mistake… so collect his $100 for being a bad man, do not pass GO and let him get back to work…
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Mike44035 - Thank you for the clarification.
Aterryw - I couldn’t agree with you, Mike and a couple of the other posters more.
Almirii - Whoa! Slow down there! If any of my children would’ve been there it wouldn’t of changed my mind. They were BREASTS. Calling this feature on a woman’s body ‘pornography’ speaks volumes. Those teenagers you obviously view as victims, probably have seen more nudity than many of us have.
I don’t blame Mr Barrett ‘if’ he did lie. My God, the political climate has been a witch hunt for a long time. Say or do something a little out of the party step and you’re taken down like a slow flying duck during hunting season. The man had to know, the moment the photo appeared on the screen, his career was through. Used to be you could trust your fellow Democrats or Republicans to stand behind you, but everybody is stabbing each other in the back these days.
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almiri_almirati - It does not change my opinion any more if I would have had a child in that classroom. By any chance have you seen what high school age girls wear to school?
It is a shame that Mr Barrett could not just apologize and move on with his life and job. It was not the end of the world.
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almiri_almirati—you are comparing this to President Clinton? Although they called for his resignation and impeachment do you not remember what happened? He stayed President. So why should President Clinton have kept his position and State Rep. Barrett not? This just doesn’t make any sense to me. A picture is a picture and a mistake is a mistake. This doesn’t warrent the man to have his career ruined. Where in the world are peoples minds these days? This man gets booted out of his job for a picture of a topless woman and a kid in Cleveland stabs a man and gets probation. What the hell is wrong with this picture?
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Hey folks…
This is not just a JOB as you put it, he represents the citizens in Lorain County.
He is a leader, a figurehead if you will and a mirror of the people he represents.
He lied during an investigation as to whom the picture belonged…he tried to blame it on his son.
The photo was of a woman he knew, and there were other photos on that flash-drive of other women.
He displayed a nude photo to minors…
Mr Barrett is an attorney, who is well aware of his actions, is educated in the law and knows the consequeces of lying to investigators.
He is guilty of:
Stupidity: for leaving porn on his flash-drive used for official purposes.
Shameful actions: for blaming his own teen son for his sick “addiction”.
Lying to investigators: both in the Ohio House and police/Ohio State Patrol.
Lying to the press: he suggested to them “I have nothing to hide”….ok…
This is not the type of person who should be representing the citizens of Lorain County.
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I agree with all the comments that society has come such a , er, long way if you want to call lowering your standards more and more every year just because it’s on MTV and BET and the internet. I also agree that kids are aware and doing a lot more nowadays and from the sounds of these posts parents have given up because “kids will be kids†and “they’re going to do it anyway.â€
Regardless, what kids get away with wearing, watching, downloading, and doing with other kids is one thing. An adult, whether a leading political figure or otherwise, should not be exposing kids to more of it just because they already are. That’s similar to saying “well, they’re all smokiing pot anyway, so when I visit their class, I’ll pass a joint around to share.â€
I guess that’s just the way the world is now. If enough people are doing it, our standard must have just been too high so we should just lower it.
Anyway, he’s an adult with a right to look at porn if he wants. It shouldn’t have been in the classroom, even by mistake (wouldn’t you think as smart as a leader should be he’d have the sense to keep his porn separate from his work presentations?). He shouldn’t have lied about it.
Should he lose his job? I don’t know. I do agree that leaders should be held to higher standards. That used to be a significant part of leadership. Especially where kids are concerned. But since the standards in our world have lowered, I guess it’s fitting that our punishments do too. Now I’m feeling apathetic…
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Helllllllllloooo………this is Lorain County all of you are talking about. Do you not read the paper or watch the news? It is not a holy county !!
Personally I believe he should still be representing the County of Lorain…but this incident has put an end to it. I don’t believe he should have blamed his son, but that is what people do when put on the spot.
I am sure that the high school students are still laughing about it. Maybe someone should take a poll among them and ask their opinions. I bet they’d like him to come back..lol. Big deal….like others have said……..these kids probably know more and have seen more than what parents think.
I say he takes back the resignation and merge forward. With all that …….he has potential to become a US President!!
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This is no more a party issue than it is an issue of a bunch of high school students seeing a nude photo.
Let’s get this straight:
This person represents a county in government and was just dumb enough to not only use his government issued comptuer to download a nude of a woman HE KNEW, but he also resorted to being a bottom feeder by publicly blaming his 15 year old son for the picture! This kid will never, ever live this down. Not only do he and his siblings have to live with the FACT that their father is unfaithful to their mother, but they also get to live with it amongst their piers!
It seems to me that you people are not only making this a moral issue but you’re making it a party issue! This is about a defense attorney/representative’s family being slung through the mud. Do you have no idea what his family has to endure. That name is HUGE in Lorain County, and every time one of them uses their name, they get to hang their heads in shame thanks to good old Matt.
He should not only have been fired (not resign) but he should be disbarred and sit in the very prison he worked so hard to keep criminals out of!
Walk a mile in the shoes of his wife & kids! What if you had to face the relentless media that they will. I wonder how many would defend Barrett then!
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