FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Allegations of quid pro quo sexual harassment have arisen concerning a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from Fayette County.
In an interview with Lootpress, Beckley Attorney Steve New announced that he has been retained by a woman regarding charges of sexual harassment on the part of Delegate Austin Haynes of Fayette County, and New is investigating other allegations from other women. Haynes, who is also a current candidate for House District 50, is accused by one of the women of offering support on a bill during the 2022 General Session of the legislature in exchange for sex.
In the text messages provided by New, Haynes is seen telling the woman that he masturbated while looking at her photo and asking if she was upset about it:
Haynes: “Remind me to tell you something later”
Accuser: “Is it bad? It must be. Why tell me later? Why not tell me now?”
Haynes: “It’s not bad. Just something I did last night. You might think it’s bad. Not sure”
Accuser: “?”
Haynes: “What”
Accuser: “Bad or not bad?”
Haynes: “I jacked off to one of your pics. So you tell me… was it bad or not? Well, I guess it was bad.”
Accuser: …”Did you really do that?”
Haynes: “Yes. Is that a bad thing?”
Accuser: “Idk, I wasn’t there.”
Haynes: “Does it bother you?”
Accuser: “I don’t have an opinion one way or the other”
Haynes: “What if I am doing it right now?
Accuser: “It’s your prerogative.”
Haynes: “Would you rather not talk about it? Do you ever masturbate?”
The allegations of offering support for a bill in exchange for sex arise from the following text message:
Haynes: “I think she wants me to f**k her for her support on the bill
Accuser: “That is stupid of her then”
Haynes: “Why”
Accuser: “Shouldn’t be quid pro quo.”
Haynes: “Happens all the time.”
Accuser: “I couldn’t deal with it.”
Haynes: “Would u f**k someone for them to support your bill if it was very important to u?”
Accuser: “Nope”
Haynes: “I want to apologize for last night. I had a little too much to drink. But anyway, I am planning to have a meeting about the bill either tomorrow or Wednesday. Also, I wasn’t insinuating that you sleep around to get a bill passed. I was just telling you what happens in Charleston sometimes…”
The accuser was a citizen attempting to get Haynes to push for legislative action on a bill involving Native American Tribal Recognition by the state of West Virginia. The bill ultimately was never placed upon a committee agenda. New told Lootpress that several other women have accused Haynes of sexual harassment, but not while he was acting in his role as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. New anticipates filing a notice of suit with the State of West Virginia within the coming days. New’s office is continuing to investigate allegations against Haynes from multiple sources.
Lootpress reached out to Delegate Austin Haynes for a response to the allegations. Haynes was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Haynes is currently seeking re-election to the newly created 50th District seat of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Haynes currently serves in the multi-member 32nd district seat covering Fayette County. Haynes was also appointed the Chairman of the Fayette County Republican Party this summer following the May primary. Â
Haynes faces Democrat Elliot Pritt, a former member of the Mountain Party that has unsuccessfully ran for the House seat in the past. Pritt is running for the first time as a Democrat.
Early voting begins on October 26, and the General Election will be held on November 8, 2022.