Norwalk in the News: State Rep Resigns Over Nude Photos [UPDATED]

I couldn't let this big news story from last week - which originated right here in Norwalk - pass without making note of it:

Rep. Matthew Barrett, whose computer displayed an image of a topless woman during a presentation to a Norwalk High School social studies class, has resigned.

The image was projected after Barrett, a Democrat [ED.: Hey, what do you know? Mentioned his party affiliation in the 2nd paragraph rather than burying it deeper into the story as usually happens when the offender is a Democrat. Of course, had he been a Republican, it would have been the first word of the first paragraph.] from Amherst, inserted a data memory stick into the computer for an Oct. 2 lecture on how a bill becomes a law. He was speaking to a U.S. government class of about 20 seniors at NHS. [ED.: Thank God this wasn't at Norwalk Catholic School.]

Barrett first said he didn’t know how the image had become intermingled with his graphics presentation. After it appeared on the screen, the state lawmaker immediately shut down the computer and finished the presentation using paper handouts.

A later review by the Norwalk police, with help from the state Highway Patrol, found one of Barrett’s four children had downloaded the image. [ED.: Yeah, right, let's blame the kid.] Ohio House Democratic leader Joyce Beatty said Barrett acknowledged not being truthful about the matter and she immediately demanded his resignation Thursday.

***
House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, told the Columbus Dispatch she was “shocked and appalled because we had all embraced him because the issue involved his son.”

"I have no tolerance for someone not being truthful about that incident. He acknowledged that he knew who the women were in those photos [ED.: Yeah, sure, it was the kid.], and he had not been forthright with us or the voters."

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported in today’s editions a lawmaker was told there were nude photos of two women from Barrett’s district on the memory stick used during the presentation.

“The pictures were of women he knows from back in his district,” said the House member, whom the newspaper did not identify. [ED.: Like I said, yeah, let's blame the kid. Right.]

[More]

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

My Comments:
Ohio Republicans aren't smart enough to know how to turn this incident into a "Mark Foley moment" for the Ohio Democrat Party. And at least the Democrat House Minority Leader had the decency to ask for this guy's resignation, which, as we all know, doesn't generally happen when the perpetrator is a Democrat and the scandal is "all about sex".


UPDATE
Meanwhile, Barrett has received a major award: "Girlieman of the Week".