According to an investigative report from the Daily Mail, a Utah lawmaker who resigned this week reportedly used taxpayer funds for at least two hotel rooms that he used for the solicitation of prostitutes.
Rep. Jon E. Stanard is a married father of three and was a campaigner for “family values” and “traditional marriage.” Now he’s accused of paying for sex during two business trips to Salt Lake City in 2017. In the same year, Stanard voted for tougher penalties regarding prostitution, which included raising the fine to $2,500. On his website, which has since been taken down, he declared that he was a “strong advocate for conservative family values.”
“I am pro-life, as well as for traditional marriage,” his website stated.
This is Utah Republican Rep. Jon Stanard
He voted for tougher penalties for prostitution.
He has just resigned amid allegations that he used taxpayer money to pay for hotel rooms with a prostitute.
It would really be a shame if everyone RETWEETED this picture of him. pic.twitter.com/efPGcBlCX8
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 9, 2018
But according to text messages obtained by the Daily Mail, Stanard met 39-year-old Brie Taylor for sex twice last year. According to Taylor, Stanard paid her $250 for two one-hour sessions in June and August. Now, the Utah House is investigating whether he used taxpayer money. Speaking to the Associated Press, House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley said that Stanard was reimbursed for for hotel stays that coincided with the dates he had his sessions with Taylor.
From the Daily Mail:
Taylor claims Stanard, who represents around 32,000 people living in Utah’s District 62, first approached her on March 7 2017.
He allegedly wrote: ‘Looking at your website. Can you meet?’
In a second text he added: ‘Would need to be tonight. Only in town a little. Anytime. Can do in or out. At hotel in downtown SL.’
They exchanged a string of messages but Taylor was unavailable because her 10-year-old son was sick.
He messaged her again the following month but she was again unavailable, and they met for the first time at the Fairfiled Inn by Marriott Hotel in Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah on June 20.
Taylor said: ‘I already knew who he was because I screen all my clients using a phone number service and I Googled him.
‘I was surprised that he was using his real phone number. I thought that was kind of stupid but I knew he wasn’t a psycho so I met him.
…
‘I told him I had Googled him and we talked about what he does. He said he comes up to Salt Lake a lot and he would like to see me again.
‘He said he never does this sort of stuff in St. George because it is really culturally strict down there.’
“If there has been an abuse of public funds or if public funds were used in a way that’s inappropriate, we would,” GOP House Speaker Greg Hughes said. “I don’t have solid answers for those things. I would need to have a way that I would know conclusively that that is the case.
Since Stanard has resigned, House officials said they can no longer conduct an ethics investigation regarding his actions.
