A married GOP rep has resigned after an investigation determined he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff.
The newly finished probe stems from multiple internal complaints filed last month against Texas's Bryan Slaton - one of which that claimed the 45-year-old Royse City rep had sexual encounter with the intern at his Austin apartment.
Slaton Accused of Plying Teen with Alcohol, Forcing Her to Take Birth Control After Sexual Encounter
The complaints were filed by a 21-year-old legislative intern and two 19-year-old aides, one of whom claimed she was summoned to Slaton's condo on a late night in early April.
Her account, obtained by the Texas Tribune, claimed Slaton then plied her with rum and coke to the point where she felt dizzy and had blurred vision - impairing her judgement before engaging in sexual intercourse with her.
An internal investigation that finished Saturday, however, found Slaton and the young staffer, identified only by the pseudonym Sophie A., had sex, and that the staffer took the emergency contraceptive Plan B after being ordered to keep quiet by Slaton.
The report resultantly found that the aide "could not effectively consent to intercourse and could not indicate whether it was welcome or unwelcome."
Committee Recommended Slaton's Expulsion from the House Following Sexual Misconduct Investigation
Texas' five-person bipartisan committee that probed the complaints revealed the fruits of their internal investigation Saturday, in the form of a 16-page report and a statement from Rep. Andrew Murr, the investigation committee's chair.
Standing before members of the House, Murr laid bare Slaton's predatory behavior, before recommending he be the first state rep expelled from the body since 1927.
"Judge Evans conducted this detailed investigation quickly and professionally, interviewing all complainants and cooperating witnesses and assembling documents and other evidence," Murr said.
After roughly three weeks of investigation, Murr said Evans submitted her report to the committee - and it was enough for the committee of three Republicans and two Democrats to unanimously vote that some form workplace misconduct had occurred.
"To summarize the committee report,' Murr said, "we find that Committee member Slaton has engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate."
"That behavior was induced by alcohol that representative Slaton provided to that 19-year-old subordinate," Murr added, before noting that "Rep. Slaton then acted systematically to influence that subordinate and multiple witnesses and obstruct the investigation into the matter," before recommending Slaton's immediate dismissal.
Slaton has been wed to his wife Sharmen for more than five years. The pair have a young son, and previously filed for divorce in April 2022. However, the couple agreed to cease the divorce back in November.
Slaton Sent Letter of Resignation to Gov. Greg Abbott Ahead of Vote
On Monday, the day before a planned vote to oust him from office, Slaton sent a resignation letter to Gov. Greg Abbott. "This is to inform the people of my legislative district, the governor of the state of Texas, and the House of Representatives, that I hereby resign my position as a member of the legislature effective immediately," the letter reads.
"It has been an honor to represent my friends, neighbors and the great people and community of House District 2. They voted overwhelmingly to send me to the Capitol a their representative in two elections, and I worked daily to meet their expectations," it continues.
"My decision today is to ensure that their expectations will continue to be met by a new representative who will also work hard on their behalf,' Slaton continued. "I am grateful to my many colleagues in the House who fought with me to improve life for all Texans, and to those who, even when we could not agree."
"I look forward to spending more time with my young family, and will continue to find ways to serve my community and all citizens across our great state."
Slaton's Anti-Drag Comments
Slaton has been among a cohort of Republicans pushing bans on access to gender-affirming healthcare and drag queen story hours for kids.
"Children don't need to be focused on sex and sexualization," he said in an interview last year, the AP previously reported. "We need to let them just grow up to be children and let them do that as they're getting closer to being an adult."
