The Ohio Republican legislator who abruptly resigned last week amid allegations he had sex with another man in his office led a secret gay life, people who knew him have said.

Wes Goodman, 33, was elected to represent the people of the 87th district in 2016.

He quit abruptly from the Ohio House after House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, a Republican from Clarksville, was made aware of the incident. After meeting with Goodman, Rosenberger said in a statement that Goodman had “acknowledged and confirmed the allegations,” which Rosenberger described as “inappropriate behavior related to [Goodman's] state office.”

While working in Washington for conservative U.S. Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, Goodman worked on legislation introduced by Jordan that sought to overturn D.C.'s law that recognized the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples performed outside the district.

Before being elected to the Ohio House, Goodman worked for the Conservative Action Project (CAP), a group founded in 2008 that promotes constitutional conservatism. On its website, the group says that constitutional conservatism “informs conservatism's firm defense of family, neighborhood, community and faith.”

The Washington Post and Cleveland.com spoke to people who said that Goodman led a double life while working in Washington.

“In private, he exchanged salacious texts and emails with gay men he met on Capitol Hill, and sent sexually suggestive messages to young men he met through conservative circles who were too intimidated to publicly complain,” Cleveland.com reported.

One of the people told Cleveland.com that Goodman sent “inappropriate material” and propositioned younger men via text message and Facebook messenger.

“It was suggestive 'I am here in my underwear' kinds of stuff,” a former co-worker who shared some of the messages said.

The Post on Friday published a 2015 hotel incident that involved the 18-year-old son of a Republican donor. The young man allegedly ran from the room when he woke up in the middle of the night to find Goodman fondling him.

After the college student told his parents, Goodman was fired from his position at the conservative Council for National Policy, which is headed by Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins, an influential conservative strongly opposed to LGBT rights.

Cleveland.com also spoke to a former GOP congressional staffer who claimed that Goodman was “all over Craigslist” searching for sex with other men. Chris Donnelly said that he had a sexual encounter with Goodman in 2008.

“It became a running joke between me and my gay friends on Capitol Hill,” Donnelly said. “It's not like it was some one-off thing.”

In a statement, the married Goodman expressed regret for his actions and asked for privacy.

"We all bring our own struggles and our own trials into public life. That has been true for me, and I sincerely regret that my actions and choices have kept me from serving my constituents and our state in a way that reflects the best ideals of public service," he said. "For those whom I have let down, I’m sorry. As I move onto the next chapter of my life, I sincerely ask for privacy for myself, my family, and my friends.”