A Republican lawmaker in Texas faces expulsion from the state House this week after he was accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with his 19-year-old aide, The Washington Post reports.
The move comes after the House General Investigations Committee recommended that GOP Rep. Bryan Slaton, 45, be expelled following an investigation that found he had sex with his teenage aide on April 1 at his condo in Austin while she was drunk and then tried to cover it up.
The aide told the committee that Slaton, a married former Southern Baptist youth and family minister, gave her plenty of rum and coke and she felt “really dizzy.” Her friend told the committee that the aide had unprotected sex with Slaton and obtained Plan B pregnancy-prevention medication the next day.
Slaton later showed the aide fake emails that claimed to have information about the incident in an apparent loyalty test, and told her not to tell anyone about the incident, The Texas Tribune reported.
The committee concluded that because the aide was intoxicated, she “could not effectively consent to intercourse and could not indicate whether [Slaton’s conduct] was welcome or unwelcome.”
Aside from violated several House rules the committee said Slaton likely committed three Class A misdemeanors that carry a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
“The fact that Slaton has not expressed regret or remorse for his conduct is also egregious and unwarranted,” the committee wrote. according to the Associated Press. “It is the Committee’s unanimous recommendation that, considering the factors stated above, the only appropriate discipline in this matter is expulsion.”
The House will vote Tuesday to expel Slaton. Expulsion requires approval from a two-thirds majority.
Slaton has denounced drag shows as “grooming events” and led the effort to ban them in Texas over what he says is “the sexualization of our children.” He has also tried to make abortion a capital offense, according toThe Dallas Morning News.
