Jerry Dyer: Questions about alleged ’80s relationship with underage girl are ‘political smear’
Mayoral candidate and former Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer declined to discuss decades-old allegations of an affair with an underage girl during a podcast interview posted this week. In a statement to The Bee, he called the question a “political smear.”
Dyer was asked about the alleged relationship by the hosts of the podcast “Two Guys Talkin’ Fresno.” The hosts are Craig Scharton, a former Fresno City Councilmember who is sometimes called “Mr. Fresno” for his role in downtown revitalization, and Paul Swearengin, husband of former Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin and a minister and radio show host.
The podcast hosts interviewed Dyer and his challenger, Fresno County prosecutor Andrew Janz, about their campaigns and issues facing the city.
During the podcast interview, Dyer first said he would address the issue of the relationship at a later and more appropriate time and venue. But after the podcast was posted, Dyer said in a statement Thursday to The Bee that he would not discuss “these smears” now or in the future.
Podcast interview
Swearengin first broached the topic by referencing past scrutiny of Dyer and statements he’s made about being forgiven. “What should Fresnans be able to ask you about, about your past, about the things that you said you’ve been forgiven for? What should those questions be allowed to be?” Swearengin said.
Dyer vaguely referenced “things that have been brought up in my life” from his 20s and noted he is now 60 years old. “At some point you’ve got to outlive that,” he said, saying he hoped his career since then proved he’s a different person.
Scharton said there was one particular issue the public may want Dyer to directly answer. “So far, the answer that I’ve heard is not really an answer,” Scharton said. “And that has to do with the underage female relationship that you might or might not have had in your 20s when you were a sworn officer. So did that happen or not happen?”
Dyer declined to answer, saying the podcast episode wasn’t the appropriate time or venue to discuss the issue.
“At the appropriate time, there will be an appropriate response,” Dyer said. “Over the years, my wife and I have had a lot of discussions about where I was in my 20s.
“…I want to be careful, quite frankly, not to do or say anything that’s going to cause any issues in other people’s lives as well. And I’m very respectful of that. And I’m also very respectful of my children and my grandchildren and my wife,” Dyer said.
When asked if he will address the issue before Election Day, Dyer responded: “We’ll see.”
The election is March 3.
Past allegations
Shortly after Dyer was sworn in as police chief in July 2001, The Bee published a story with the headline “Cops twice probed allegation Dyer had affair with girl, 16.”
The Bee reported Dyer twice faced accusations that he had sex with an underage girl in the mid-1980s. The girl turned 16 in 1985 — when Dyer was 26, married and working as a Fresno Police officer.
In interviews in 2001, Dyer declined to discuss the alleged sexual relationship.
“I’m not going to sit here before you and confirm those things or deny those things…” Dyer said. “All I can tell you is that the relationships that I have had outside of my marriage, when I was a young man, have been dealt with. … God’s forgiven me. My wife’s forgiven me. This department’s forgiven me and looked into a lot of things in my past.”
When a Bee reporter at the time asked Dyer why he wouldn’t say “no” if he did not have a sexual relationship with the girl, Dyer said, “Principle. … Sometimes a response dignifies the question.”
In more recent interviews, Dyer acknowledges that he previously was unfaithful to his wife, Diane, but did not elaborate.
Campaign issue
The podcast episode isn’t the first time in Dyer’s mayoral campaign that people have alluded to the allegations.
His announcement was met by protesters who yelled “child molester” and other names at him.
Last week, a campaign billboard depicting Dyer and his wife was vandalized. The vandal spray painted the words “rapist” and “murder” on it. Dyer wouldn’t speculate what the spray-painted words referenced.
The hosts said on the podcast they didn’t want the question about the relationship to be a “gotcha” moment. In a reflection episode, they said they thought of questions similar to those in a job interview.
Scharton said in an interview with The Bee that he thought Dyer should’ve answered the question about the affair on the podcast.
“I do think times have changed. … We have much stronger sexual harassment laws now,” Scharton said. “The #MeToo movement has appropriately shifted our consciousnesses.”
Swearengin, on the other hand, said he agreed with Dyer that the podcast wasn’t the appropriate venue to address the issue. He said it’s up to Dyer’s team to decide when and where to do that.
“Hopefully we’ve started a good conversation around the mayoral race and election year coming up,” Swearengin said. “…I hope in some way we’ve been helpful to the voters, and I hope we’ve helped the candidates get a feel for what they’re going to be facing.”
Dyer’s response
When The Bee requested from Dyer a comment about the interview, he sent the following statement:
“This decades-old and publicly-vetted issue is nothing short of a political smear to deflect from the real issues facing our community.
“The people of Fresno have made it very clear: They want safe streets, good paying jobs and a proud and united city.
“My political opponents and long-time haters aren’t interested in solving problems, but instead attempt to tarnish my long record of successful results by slinging political mud at me and my family.
“Their smears won’t make our streets safe, they won’t create a single job, and they won’t create a path of success for Fresno’s future.
“Given this, I will not be discussing these smears now or in the future.”
Scharton and Swearengin said the podcast was started to facilitate civil conversations about difficult issues. They encouraged Fresnans to listen to the interviews with both candidates and the debrief episode.
“We want to show that Fresnans can take on hard issues and talk things through,” Swearengin said. “As we interviewed these two mayoral candidates, we thought of ourselves as a voice for the community and the average voter and, with no political agenda, wanted to ask the questions we had heard others talking about. Our hope was to be honest but fair with both candidates and we did our best to do so.”