Rep Brian Slaton, pictured above is a former pastor who was elected to the State Legislature of Texas. He ticks all the boxes that you would anticipate …
- He previously introduced a bill to make abortion a Criminal offence. It was a bill that was advocating for the death penalty for all involved, both the mother, and the doctor. No exceptions at all, not even if it was done to save the life of the mother by aborting a non-viable ectopic pregnancy. So yes, a death sentence for a life saving medical procedure is indeed very “Pro Life”. (Really)
- He also planned to introduce a bill this year that would ban minors from drag shows, because “Children don’t need to be focused on sex and sexualization, and 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“, because that’s what Drag Queen Story hour” in libraries was all about.
- He also pushed for Democrats to be banned being given committee chairmanships in the Tx State house.
- He has also pushed last March for a referendum to investigate the secession of Texas from the U.S.
In other words, this was their guy, a deeply devout Christian who was very strongly leaning deeply Conservative into all the supposedly hot button social topics.
But then he quit
On May 8, 2023, Slaton resigned his House membership.
Why?
He put out a letter ..
That does not tell you what happened. It contains absolutely no insight into why he is no longer a state representative.
What then happened the very next day is that there was a vote to formally expell him. It was a totally unanimous vote: 147-0. This now stops him from drawing a salary or any other benefits.
What the heck did this guy do to motivate that response, how had he become so utterly toxic, even for all his colleagues?
Well, this is the bit that is really not very well known, but truly does deserve to have the spotlight thrust upon it.
Let’s now turn to a Committee report for the details.
Report: Committee on General Investigating In the Matter of Representative Bryan L. Slaton
The full 16 page report is available here.
There had not just been whispers, rumours, but also some very serious formal complaints, so they put together a committee to find the facts.
The complains were formally filed by …
- Hannah W., a 21-year-old intern in the Capitol office of Representative #1, dated April 10, 2023.
- Emily J., a 19-year-old legislative aide in the Capitol office of Representative #1, dated April 11, 2023
- Sophie A., a 19-year-old legislative aide in the Capitol office of Representative Bryan Slaton, dated April 20, 2023
Multiple young female staffers … yep, this is going exactly where you suspect it is going.
The report confirms that they find that Mr Slaton was indeed, to use their turn of phrase “engaging in inappropriate workplace conduct“.
AH but wait, what exactly does “engaging in inappropriate workplace conduct” mean?
We don’t need to speculate, because the report lays it all out as follows …
There was this …
having sexual intercourse with a legislative aide working in his state office and over whom he had primary responsibility for overseeing and who was unable to give effective consent
Permit me to translate that for you … “unable to give effective consent” … he raped his 19 year old intern.
Then there is also this …
providing alcohol to Sophie A., known to him to be a minor for purposes of the alcoholic beverage laws of this state, and by offering and/providing alcohol to Emily J., also known to him to be a minor for purposes of the alcoholic beverage laws of this state.
It was Rum and not just a beer. In other words, this former Pastor served them hard liquor so that he could get them drunk and then take advantage of them sexually.
Then there is this …
by engaging in harassment prohibited by law, specifically retaliation, by attempting to prevent any person with direct knowledge of relevant facts from speaking to anyone about Slaton’s conduct
Yep, he then later tried to gag them all but threatening them of consequences if they spoke out.
What Exactly Happened to Sophie A
Before all this happened, she had told her friends that she had been saving herself for “Somebody special”
This is how it played out …
At some point later on the morning of April 1, Emily J. received numerous calls from Sophie A.’s mother who could see, via a phone tracker, that Sophie A. was not at her apartment. Emily J. said that around 10:00 a.m. on the morning of April 1, she texted Sophie A. that she needed to come home. Emily J. said that sometime later Sophie A. arrived home after being dropped off by Slaton and that Sophie A. went to the drugstore that morning before coming home to obtain the “Plan B” medication to prevent pregnancy.
…
Emily J. recalled her conversation with Sophie A. on the morning of April 1. Emily J. asked Sophie A. “did you have sex with him [Slaton]?” and Sophie A. replied “yes.” Sophie A. told Emily J. that she had lost her virginity and that she bled a great deal as a result. Sophie A. told Emily J. that “they” had to change the sheets the next morning because of the blood. Sophie A. had bloody underwear with her that she attributed to her loss of virginity. Sophie A. told Emily J. that she was keeping the underwear as a memento from the night. Emily J. saw bloody underwear on Sophie A.’s bedside table. Sophie A. told Emily J. that she and Slaton had sex in various places throughout his apartment and that it “went on the entire night.” Sophie A. told Emily J. that it felt weird to have sex with him [Slaton] with pictures of his wife in the apartment. Sophie A. told Emily J. that they did not use a condom. Sophie A.
The final clause in Mr Slaton’s resignation letter reads “I look forward to spending more time with my young family“… er yes, his very very young family.
I can only wonder who that is a reference to.
Other Insights
The Texas Tribune has the story – “State Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns ahead of expulsion vote over inappropriate relationship with aide“
Small headline correction guys, the term there is not “Inappropriate relationship” but “rape“, please stop trying so hard to sugar-coat this.
Here is a quote from that article …
State Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, blasted Slaton for not apologizing in the letter, calling it “inconceivable.”
“His resignation gave no apology to the young woman he violated, his wife whom he betrayed or his district that he failed,” Toth said on social media. “No remorse. No acceptance of responsibility. He’s the victim that rides off in to the sunset. That was the resignation of a narcissist.”
In a statement, Republican Party of Texas Chair Matt Rinaldi commended the House for responding swiftly to “the reprehensible actions of Representative Slaton,” which were first reported in early April. He said the misconduct detailed in the report “should never be tolerated and is proper grounds for expulsion.”
“These actions have betrayed the trust that the people of Representative Slaton’s district put in him as an elected official, and he has rightly resigned,” Rinaldi said. “We are encouraged that this investigation signals that the House has entered a new era of accountability where all members will be held to the same fair and high standards.”
As for that last sentence above, I call BS on that claim. We all know that these exact same individuals will soon be lining up to kiss Trumps arse, a sexual abuser, because it will help to further their political careers.
Rock Bottom
If you ever wondered just how low the bar needs to be for the TX GOP to seriously consider thinking, “Nope, too much”, well we finally found it. Since the Tx state legislature is deep red and his district is deep red, tossing him out is not a problem.
If however, as we have seen in other instances, there was any worry that tossing him out would alter the balance of power in any way, then you can be damn sure that they would give him a free pass, not bother with any report, but instead quietly sweep it all under the rug.
Will he now also go back to being a Pastor?
Given the rampant rates of sexual abuse within churches, if he did then he will fit right in.