A Utah lawmaker who voted to tighten the state’s prostitution laws has resigned amid allegations that he paid for intimate activates with an escort on two occasions. Jon Stanard, a Republican representative from St. George, stepped down on Tuesday citing “immediate personal and family concerns”.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, Stanard met with a Salt Lake City escort named Brie Taylor in June and August of 2017, when he was in town for legislative meetings. Taylor claimed that Stanard paid her $250 for each one-hour session, and that he contacted her using a phone number listed on his public profile on the Utah House of Representatives website.
Taylor also said that Stanard was “hypocritical” for supporting laws that make it harder for other men who do what he does. In March 2017, Stanard voted in favor of a bill that reclassified the crime of soliciting a prostitute from a class B to a class A misdemeanor, which carries a higher penalty of up to $2,500 and one year in jail.
One could argue that Stanard supported anti-hooker laws, because it would theoretically lessen the amount of competition in terms of other men who were paying to meet the same escorts he allegedly was.
The scandal has raised questions about whether Stanard used taxpayer or campaign funds to pay for the hotel rooms where he allegedly met with Taylor. The House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley confirmed that Stanard was reimbursed for hotel stays in Salt Lake City in June and August 2017, and that the dates and hotel names matched with the text messages reported by the Daily Mail.
House Speaker Greg Hughes said he did not know if the House would ask Stanard to return the money, and that he would need conclusive evidence of wrongdoing.
Stanard’s lawyer, Walter Bugden, declined to comment on the allegations, but said that his client could not overcome the shadow of the accusations in the current climate of misconduct allegations in the media. Stanard’s website and social media accounts have been taken down, and his phone numbers have been disconnected, allegedly.
Stanard, who is married with three children, was elected to the House in 2012 and served as vice chair of the House Rules Committee. He stated on his website that he was a “strong advocate for conservative family values” and was “pro life, as well as for traditional marriage”. He also sponsored bills on topics such as education, health care, and public safety.
All in all this situation shows how much a joke and sham that politics is.