BUTLER, Ohio — Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus (R) resigned from office Tuesday, as he faces 2 open criminal cases — felony charges stemming from a 2025 vehicular assault and misdemeanor voyeurism charges filed after a minor relative recorded him entering her bedroom and sniffing her worn underwear on 2 separate occasions.
Butler Village Solicitor John Studenmund received the letter of resignation, effective Tuesday, according to Council President Rick Thran. The Butler Village Council, which had already scheduled a special meeting for Feb. 24 at Butler Village Hall, 111 Elm St., for personnel reasons, voted on the resignation letter at that session. Fiscal Officer Amanda Rimar confirmed a copy of the resignation letter is available to media, according to the Mansfield News Journal.
Dingus, 48, was arraigned Feb. 19 in Mansfield Municipal Court on 2 misdemeanor voyeurism counts. According to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, the alleged incidents occurred on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14 after a minor in his care grew suspicious he was entering her room and purchased a small camera to document it. Footage she captured showed Dingus entering her room, sniffing her worn underwear, and — during the second incident — touching his groin area over his clothing. She reported the footage to authorities after receiving motion alerts on her phone while she was at school. Authorities interviewed the girl at her high school on Jan. 14, and Richland County Children Services was notified.
Under Ohio Revised Code 2907.08, voyeurism prohibits a person from surreptitiously invading another’s privacy for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification.
The voyeurism charges were filed while Dingus was already out on a $25,000 bond awaiting trial on 4 felony counts — aggravated assault, vehicular assault, falsification, and dereliction of duty — stemming from a July 11, 2025, incident in which he allegedly struck a man with his vehicle. That man was reportedly fleeing a traffic stop and was wanted by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for a parole violation. Dingus was arrested on a warrant on Aug. 17, 2025, pleaded not guilty to all charges, and that case remains pending in Richland County Common Pleas Court, according to Richland Source.
Defense attorney James Mayer, who is representing Dingus in both matters, contacted the Richland County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 16 to advise that his client would not be making any statements in the voyeurism case, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office report.
Dingus’ resignation comes after months of accumulating criminal exposure that placed a sitting Republican municipal official at the center of 2 separate law enforcement investigations. Both criminal cases remain active and unresolved, according to the Mansfield News Journal.
