Lorain/Elyria, OH
State Rep. Barrett resigns
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Former Amherst councilman could face criminal charges after display of nude woman’s photo at a school lecture
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State Rep. Matt Barrett resigned in disgrace Thursday at the request of the Ohio House of Representatives minority leader and could face criminal charges related to an incident last year in which he accidentally projected the image of a topless woman during a civics lecture to a high school class.
“It became clear that Rep. Barrett had not been forthright with me and his colleagues,” state Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, said in a news release Thursday, a day after she asked Barrett to resign.
Shortly after the October incident, Beatty downplayed it, saying one of Barrett’s four children, a teenage son, was responsible for the image on his father’s computer.
But Beatty’s release Thursday said Barrett has now admitted to Beatty that he lied, but the release did not elaborate.
Beatty was traveling Thursday and unavailable for comment.
State Rep. Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island, who also serves as head of the state Democratic Party, wouldn’t say what Barrett lied about, but he said the responsibility lies with Barrett, not other Democrats.
“It’s not a Democratic scandal. It’s a Matt Barrett scandal,” Redfern said. “He lied to a lot of people.”
Barrett’s resignation doesn’t end his problems.
Norwalk Law Director Stuart O’Hara said he plans to bring in a special prosecutor to examine whether Barrett should be charged in the incident, which took place while Barrett was speaking to about 20 students in an American government class at Norwalk High School.
An image of a topless woman was projected to the class after Barrett, D-Amherst, inserted a data memory stick into his laptop while discussing how a bill becomes a law. Barrett said at the time he didn’t know how the image became part of his presentation.
He shut down the computer when he saw the image and finished his speech using paper handouts.
Barrett had asked for a police investigation after reviewing the memory card with school officials and finding a whole directory of inappropriate photos.
“I thought, ‘I have nothing to hide here. Bring everyone in and let’s figure it out,’ ” Barrett told reporters after the incident.
He did not return repeated calls Thursday, and no one answered the door at his home.
Huron County Prosecutor Russ Leffler said he reviewed the investigation completed by Norwalk police and the Ohio Highway Patrol into how the image ended up on the memory stick.
Leffler wouldn’t discuss the exact nature of what else was found on Barrett’s laptop and memory stick, but he said it didn’t rise to the level of a felony.
O’Hara also said he couldn’t discuss the nature of the photos or what possible misdemeanor charges Barrett, an Amherst councilman before his election to the house in 2006, could face.
Barrett, an attorney, also could face disciplinary action by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Kreig Brusnahan, president of the Lorain County Bar Association, said he couldn’t comment on whether the association was reviewing a case against Barrett. The Ohio Supreme Court Disciplinary Counsel likewise would neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation into Barrett was ongoing. Barrett has no previous disciplinary problems as an attorney, according to the Supreme Court’s Web site.
It’s unclear who will replace Barrett or what impact his resignation and the allegations against him will have on the Democrats hanging onto the district he represented, which includes Huron County and parts of Seneca and Lorain counties.
Tony Giardini, chairman of the Democratic Party in Lorain, said losing Barrett was a blow because he was an effective legislator who had fought hard to win the traditionally Republican-leaning district he represented in Columbus.
“I don’t know what was on the hard drive, or how it got there, and, even assuming the worst-case scenario, Matt Barrett was an excellent legislator and a good attorney,” Giardini said.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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It’s a picture that was shown by accident, who cares if it was his sons or himself that saved it to the drive with all the other pics. He’s a grown man and can have whatever on it he wants, “unless the drive was purchased by the state”. then its just putting inappropriate material on government property. But not a job quitting issue.
He had the guts to shut off the computer and go on with the lecture…. why the fuss, and even the Ohio Surpreme Court may be involved? This is only news because of the election year. More to do over nothing…
Obama’s wife is finally proud of her country, Hillary’s husband had an affair…. and they are still running and didn’t resign from office..
So why should Matt Barrett?
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I agree. Even though, I personally think porn is disgusting, I don’t believe the man should have to resign from his position. I think thats ridiculous. Its not like he purposely put the nude pictures on the screen. He immediately turned the computer off and continued in a different manner.
He’s a grown man, he can have nude pictures on his computer and flash drive is he wishes to. Why should anyone have anything to say about it.
Ridiculous!
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I find this absolutely terrible. First of all I think Mr. Barrett made a simple mistake. After all what he does on his own time is his own business but it just so happened that the picture accidentally got mixed up with his work stuff. I actually commend Mr. Barrett for handling himself in a dignified manner in continuing on with the lecture and not making a huge fuss about it right there. I’m sure he was utterly embarrassed by what took place. Even more so, even if he did lie and say it was his son’s he called for an initial investigation himself. Maybe he did it to make himself look good but what he did does not warrent criminal charges. Hmmmm, tell me what is the crime called for having a photo of a topless woman on your hard drive? Come on now people lets get real. There are more important and more terrible things going on in this country that need our attention and we’re worrying about a man who had a photo of a topless woman on his computer that was accidentally mixed in with his work material. I’m sure those kids who saw it didn’t even think twice about it and it was quite the conversation piece for them for a few days. I bet they actually enjoyed it and if someone tells me that I’m crazy for saying that then you are blind to teenagers and what they do in this day and age.
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Hey folks…
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.”
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.”
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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