WV Republican Rep Charged With Public Masturbation

CBS News reports:

After he was charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct, the chair of a key West Virginia state legislative committee was removed from his position by chamber leadership Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Mike Maroney, who led the state Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, was arrested Tuesday on the two misdemeanors after an Aug. 4 incident at Gumby’s Cigarette & Beer World in Glen Dale, a little over an hour from Pittsburgh.

Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Canestraro said employees on surveillance video allegedly saw Maroney “committing an act of sexual gratification” about 1 p.m. in the establishment’s video lottery room. Maroney was the only person in the room at the time, according to Canestraro.

WV Metro News reports:

“At around 12:30 p.m. (Aug. 4) Glen Dale police received a call from two female employees of a local gaming establishment of a male in the video lottery room sexually gratifying himself,” Marshall County Prosecutor Joe Canestraro said Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”

Canestraro said Glen Dale Police Chief Ed Vogler responded to the call. He interviewed the workers, talked to Maroney briefly and secured the video evidence.

Vogler took a little more than a week with the investigation and then arrested Maroney Tuesday. Canestraro said there was no incident during the arrest. Maroney is free on $3,500 personal recognizance bond. He’ll make an initial appearance in front of a magistrate in the near future.

Damn those sexy slot machines.

“Family Values” Republican & West Virginia State Senator Mike Maroney was arrested this week and charged with indecent exposure after he was seen performing what local news station WTRF describes as “an overt act of self-gratification” in public.https://t.co/K6Ti7ryCuM

— David Earl Williams III (@dewforpolitics) August 14, 2024