Oregon Dem Congressional candidate accused of covering up child sex abuse allegations involving former staffer: report

An Oregon candidate for the US House of Representatives has been accused of helping cover up child sex abuse allegations involving one of her former campaign staffers. Janelle Bynum, who is running as a Democrat in the state's most competitive congressional district, failed to report allegations that a campaign field organizer allegedly sexually assaulted a minor volunteer during the 2022 campaign cycle, according to a complaint.

When an individual brought the concerns to Bynum, the congressional candidate was dismissive and reportedly threatened the person who had reached out to her, the complaint alleges, which was filed with the state's Legislative Equality Office and recently obtained by Fox News. 

However, a new report revealed that Bynum, a current Democrat state representative, is not the only politician involved in the scandal. Records show that Democrat candidate for Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Democrat Speaker of the House Julie Fahey also failed to report the alleged abuse to police, which is a requirement under Oregon's mandatory reporting law.

The law states, "Any public or private official having reasonable cause to believe that any child with whom the official comes in contact has suffered abuse or that any person with whom the official comes in contact has abused a child shall immediately report or cause a report to be made in the manner required."

"During the 2024 primary election," the complaint reads, "I was contacted by an informant with information about Rep. Bynum and her willful coverup of a sexual assault of a minor volunteer who worked for her during the 2022 cycle. The primary issue here is that all legislators are mandatory reporters. Bynum received credible information regarding one of her campaign staff sexually harassing and assaulting young volunteers, and not only did she not report it, but she also threatened to report the person who blew the whistle."



The complaint against Bynum obtained by Fox News

A spokesperson for the Bynum campaign denied the cover-up allegations, asserting that the accusations were a smear attempt. The individual alleged that the state representative "flagged these accusations directly to the accuser's employer, Future PAC, as soon as she was made aware of them after the 2022 election." Future PAC is a political action committee dedicated to electing Democrats for the state House.

"Bynum expected Future PAC to deal with these accusations fairly and swiftly and to ensure their employees' well-being and safety," the spokesperson told Fox News. "If Future PAC did anything less, that is unacceptable."

The directors of Future PAC at the time were Dan Rayfield and Julie Fahey, according to documents obtained by Oregon Citizen. This implies that they, like Bynum, were required to report the alleged abuse to law enforcement.



According to the complaint, two former staff members alleged that they had reported inappropriate sexual behavior by a field organizer directly to Bynum and two other people associated with her 2022 campaign. However, the complainant said "nothing" was done and the allegations went unreported to police. Oregon State Police recently opened an investigation and conducted interviews regarding the complaint, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News.

The claims were filed by Kelie McWilliams, the former campaign manager for Bynum's Democratic rival, Jamie McLeod-Skinner. McWilliams was employed by FuturePAC during Rep. Bynum's 2022 campaign. McWilliams stated that since filing the complaint, she has spoken with the underage victim, who allegedly confirmed that she was sexually assaulted by the staffer while volunteering for the campaign. The victim does not wish to come forward.

On Nov. 17, 2022, text messages between Bynum and one of her former campaign managers, Conner Carroll, who revealed the allegations to Bynum, appeared to show little interest in the state rep. wanting to address the alleged sexual misconduct. "I asked you not to send me anything and I meant that," Bynum wrote in response to the allegations being brought forward.

The campaign staffer fired back days later, "While as unfortunate as this may be for you or [redacted] I am NOT siting (sic) by while someone like this gets off scott-free treating young women abusively like that. If he gets a job down there this won't be the last you hear of it I promise." Carroll told the Oregonian that the text exchanges were over the accuser's social media posts that discussed illicit acts with minors. Carroll did not confirm that there had been allegations made against the accuser for allegedly sexually assaulting the underage volunteer staffer.
 

In another text exchange on Nov. 14, 2022, a FuturePAC staffer told the former campaign manager: "It's best we handle telling Janelle" and added they would "certainly flag" the concerns.

The exact date on which Bynum raised the concerns to Future PAC is uncertain. However, two sources familiar with the matter told Fox News that the accused staffer has maintained an affiliation with FuturePAC in recent years and has held a position with the Oregon State Legislature following the 2022 campaign.

Bynum is currently running against Republican incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer in Oregon's 5th Congressional District, which is the most competitive district in the state. Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer slammed Bynum for failing to report the sexual abuse allegations to police during a Tuesday night debate.

"It shocks me," the congresswoman said. "As a mother, if that was your child, you wouldn't stop and hope somebody else took the lead. You know the responsibility of a mandatory reporter. That means you talk to law enforcement and you let them do the investigation. It's not enough to go tell somebody else to do the job. It speaks to the failed leadership of supporting oftentimes the perpetrator as opposed to the victim."

"I do not find it in the best interest of Oregonians to support the rapists over the victims," she continued. "It's a disturbing pattern."

Chavez-DeRemer must secure a victory in order to preserve the conservative majority in the US House in November, according to analysts. Democrats have the potential to seize control of the chamber from Republicans if they are able to achieve a net gain of four seats, and have poured huge spending into this one race. The congresswoman was the first Republican to win the 5th congressional district in decades, securing the 2022 victory by just over one percentage point. Recent polls show the battle is neck-and-neck, and could be decided by Clackamas County, a moderate county in the Portland metro area.