Jon Stanard: Utah Republican Who Led Crackdown On Prostitution Accused Of Spending Taxpayer Money On Call Girl

Jon Stanard was known in the Utah legislature as a conservative Republican lawmaker who led a crackdown on prostitution, but now he is in trouble after allegedly being caught using taxpayer money on a call girl.

Stanard sponsored legislation in Utah that cracked down on prostitution by instituting tougher penalties, and now he may become a victim of those new penalties. A report from the New York Post noted that Stanard met with a high-class escort named Brie Taylor, paying her $250 for a series of trysts in a hotel room. Stanard was then reimbursed for the hotel stays, which took place while he was attending legislative meetings at the state Capitol, the report noted.

The story was broken by the Daily Mail, which conducted an interview with Brie Taylor, the prostitute who claimed that she met Jon Stanard twice for sex.

Stanard is now under investigation for the alleged incidents, with fellow lawmakers saying they want to know if public funds were used in an inappropriate way. They are also trying to find out whether Stanard used his state-issued cell phone to arrange the trysts with Taylor.

The story made headlines for the hypocrisy that the allegations appeared to uncover, earning coverage from news outlets across the country.

The 43-year-old Stanard has a reputation as a conservative Republican and family man, with a wife and young children. Stanard’s website noted that he was a “strong advocate for family values” and is in favor of “traditional marriage.” He resigned his position in the Utah legislature on Wednesday, the Denver Post reported. He has not yet addressed the prostitution allegations directly, however.

A British newspaper reported Thursday that Rep. Jon Stanard resigned abruptly Tuesday after he met a Salt Lake City call girl twice for sex, and it released racy texts that it says he sent to herhttps://t.co/KvSaTostVe

— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) February 8, 2018

The allegations left Stanard’s colleagues in shock, saying they never expected such behavior out of Stanard.

“I was absolutely shocked. I had never heard anything, there was nothing in my interaction — I sit next to him on the House floor — nothing in my interaction that’s ever suggesting anything even remotely close to what we’re seeing today,” GOP Rep. Mike McKell told the Denver Post.

It is not yet clear if Jon Stanard will face a criminal investigation for his alleged visits with a prostitute, or whether he could be made to repay taxpayer money allegedly used on those visits.