On July 11, 2025, Dingus assaulted a man convicted of a sex offense with his car, and was arrested by Bellville police.
On Jan. 13, 2026, Dingus was arrested and charged with voyeurism after sneaking into a teen girl's room and sniffing her panties.
On Nov. 2, 2026, Dingus pled No Contest to the charges, but the prosecutor will recommend probation, apparently.
If convicted of voyeurism, Dingus could have his own face plastered on the sex offense registry. The question is, how will he try run himself over with his car?
Former Butler mayor found guilty of felony vehicular assault in Richland County Common Pleas Court
Dingus will be sentenced in December
by Katie Ellington Serrao, November 2, 2026
MANSFIELD — The former mayor of Butler was found guilty of vehicular assault Monday morning.
Visiting Judge James Kimbler found Wesley Dingus, 49, guilty after he entered a no contest plea to the charge in Richland County Court. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December.
The charge stemmed from an incident that occurred in Butler in July 2025 when video footage captured a vehicle driven by Dingus striking a man twice as he fled police.
As part of a plea agreement, three other charges stemming from the incident were dismissed: a fourth-degree felony aggravated assault charge, a misdemeanor falsification charge and misdemeanor dereliction of duty charge.
Dingus had pleaded not guilty to all four charges in August 2025. A jury trial on the charges had been scheduled for Tuesday.
Dingus’ attorney, James Mayer III, said he and the prosecution had issued a joint recommendation for probation, rather than prison time.
The victim, Anthony Ward, had a warrant out for his arrest and was arrested by local law enforcement at the scene...
Kimbler, a visiting judge who retired from the Medina County Common Pleas Court, set a sentencing hearing for Dingus on Dec. 18.
“I don’t anticipate this could happen, Mr. Dingus, but it’s possible that I could order a prison sentence independent of what your attorneys recommend,” Kimbler said Monday.
“In other words, the recommendation from the counsel is recommendation, but ultimately it’s my decision whether or not to what sentence to impose. Do you understand that?”
Dingus replied, “Yes, Your Honor.”
Dingus is set to appear for a bench trial in Mansfield Municipal Court on Nov. 13, where he faces two separate, unrelated charges of voyeurism.
Richland Co. mayor charged with voyeurism after allegedly sniffing teen girl’s underwear
By Madeline Harden
Published: Feb. 18, 2026 at 2:01 PM CST
RICHLAND COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - Butler Mayor Wesley Dingus is facing two counts of voyeurism after he was allegedly caught on camera sniffing a teen girl’s underwear, records show.
On Jan. 13, a Richland County Sheriff’s Office sergeant was contacted by the Richland County Children’s Services after the office was “sent a video showing an adult male going through [a child’s] bedroom, picking up her underwear and smelling it,” the report read.
The next day, a Richland County Sheriff’s deputy and a Richland County Children’s Services representative went to the victim’s high school to speak with her about the reported incident.
According to the report, she told the officials she was suspicious that Dingus had been going into her bedroom and purchased a small video camera to set up there.
She said on Jan. 13, she left her home at around 7 a.m. to go to school. Then, according to the report, 15 minutes later, she got a notification on her phone that motion was detected in her bedroom.
When she checked the footage, she saw Dingus enter her room and start smelling her underwear.
The next day, she received an alert at 7:17 a.m., and the video showed Dingus enter her room again, smell her worn underwear, and touch his groin area over his clothes, according to the report.
On Jan. 26, after deputies continued investigating and interviewing, the case was forwarded to the Mansfield City Law Director’s office.
Then on Feb. 12, deputies prepared the two summonses for voyeurism charges after speaking with Assistant Law Director Rob Sharp.
Deputies issued the summonses to Dingus the next day.
This is not his first time facing a judge; he faces numerous charges for allegedly running over a man wanted for violating parole back in July of 2025.
19 News has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment, but has yet to hear back.
