Buz Lukens - Sex Scandals and Resignation

Sex Scandals and Resignation

On February 1, 1989, an Ohio television station caught Lukens on camera at a Columbus, Ohio, McDonald's restaurant talking with Anna Coffman, the mother of Rosie Coffman, a teenage girl. During the conversation he openly discussed having sexual relations with Rosie. Soon afterward, a grand jury brought charges against him of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because of allegations that he paid Rosie $40 and gifts in exchange for sex when she was 16 years old. Further allegations had been made that the relationship with Coffman began when she was 13, but a grand jury declined to pursue further charges against Lukens beyond a single charge of "contributing to the delinquency of a minor".

On May 26, 1989, a jury in the Franklin County Juvenile Court convicted Lukens of the misdemeanor crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for the paying of $40 to Coffman for sex in his Columbus apartment on November 6, 1988. A friend of Coffman's, a 19-year-old, accompanied her that day, but was not directly involved.

Though Ohio's age of consent is 16, Lukens's conviction was under a misdemeanor statute that states that "no person shall... aid, abet, induce, cause, encourage, or contribute to a child or ward of the juvenile court (into) becoming an unruly or (delinquent) child."

Lukens made an unsuccessful appeal to the Franklin County Court of Appeals. Of particular contention, Rosie Coffman had a considerable juvenile delinquency record (which included curfew violations, running away, and petty theft), but this record (as well as a psychiatric report) was ruled inadmissible. She lived with her mother, but was a ward of the Juvenile Court. Lukens' defense was that the juvenile record would show that Coffman was already a delinquent and not a reliable witness. The reliability of her testimony was already under attack, as there were significant testimony inconsistencies, a fact conceded by County Prosecutor Michael Miller.

Refusing to resign from his seat, despite the demands of the Republican leadership, Lukens lost the 1990 Republican primary to state representative, and future Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

While serving out the remaining months of his congressional term, a Capitol elevator operator accused him of fondling her. He was ordered to serve 30 days in jail and see a psychologist, as well as be tested for venereal diseases. He served nine days in jail.

Lukens resigned from Congress on October 24, 1990.