#OylerGate

Allegations of Abuse, Sexual Assault, Prostitution and Philandering swarm City Council member Zach Oyler

Despite getting reelected Peoria City Councilman Zachary Oyler has likely obliterated any political capital he had. On Tuesday, July 30^th, 2019, Oyler was arrested at his home on charges of aggravated domestic battery, interfering with a report of domestic violence and unlawful restraint. He was later released from jail on a $100 bond. ¹

The following day an Order of Protection (OP) from his wife was filed in Court. The allegations in it paint a disturbing picture of the Councilman. The OP reads:

Zachary [Respondent] was out at the bar drinking and when he returned home he fell asleep but before he went to sleep he was shouting at me. I [Petitioner] left to go pick up dinner and Respondent called me wanted to know if Petitioner was leaving and not coming back. Petitioner got home and he was in the yard, Respondent walked in behind me and said “is this how its going to be?” Respondent was yelling at Petitioner for majority of the night, Petitioner tried to leave and Respondent trapped Petitioner in the house. The Petitioner called her therapist and was told to tell Respondent she was leaving for a couple of hours to go work and make sure Petitioner takes her purse with her. Petitioner attempted to leave and respondent took her phone and threw Petitioner to the ground and put his arm around her neck. Respondent was trying to get Petitioner’s stuff from her. But Petitioner was able to get away from him due to Respondent was drunk. Petitioner got into the bedroom and Petitioner convinced Respondent to go out to the garage. Respondent came back in [to the house] and told Petitioner to leave her keys. When Respondent was outside, Petitioner realized she needed to call 911 because she wasn’t sure how bad it was going to get. Petitioner heard Respondent come back in and Petitioner was going to hang up but dispatch said to keep the line open, Petitioner put her phone in her purse and they heard the incident. Respondent ended up going back outside and the police arrived.

Also there has been numerous sexual assault with the last one being Friday 7-26-19.

On Thursday, Oyler’s alleged survivor filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.

Further details from police incident reports and the 911 call the survivor made sheds greater light on the July 30^th incident and Oyler’s past.² She reported to the police Oyler had come home after a long day drinking (Oyler admitted to police he had been drinking and officers noticed an alcoholic stench emanating from him). Oyler was asked by his wife if he wanted dinner, but Oyler said he wasn’t hungry with the survivor stating he also said his lack of hunger meant she did not need to eat either. However, when Oyler took a nap, she left the home to get dinner. The councilman arose from his slumber and phoned his wife questioning whether she was leaving him for good and allegedly yelled at her upon her return to the house. Eventually, the survivor called her therapist who advised the survivor to leave the home and take her phone with her. She attempted to leave telling Oyler she wanted to go to work for a few hours. However, Oyler allegedly took his wife’s phone from her and threw her to the ground and keeping her down with his arm. The councilman admitted to police he and his wife had been arguing, and at one point, he did take the survivor’s phone from her (which means he admitted to interfering with a report of domestic violence); but, Oyler denied the dispute getting physical. Several police recorded red bruising on the survivor’s neck and a small scratch on her chest. Because Oyler was heavily intoxicated, the survivor was able to escape and retrieve her phone. She escaped his clutches to the bedroom and was able to convince Oyler to go out to the garage, though Oyler told her to give her keys to him preventing her escape. The survivor quickly dialed 911 fearing for her safety. She can be heard on the 911 audio crying and expressing extreme fear of Oyler. After the police arrived, they determined a domestic incident had occurred and arrested Oyler for the above stated crimes.

When Oyler ran for election it was as a conservative and he is a part of the Weaver faction of the Peoria Republican Party. He has also admitted he is very religious. Yet, according to his survivor’s interview with police the following morning, Oyler has a history of paying for sexual encounters and philandering going back a decade. She states even before they were married, there were trust concerns. The survivor alleges that one instance in 2009 occurred when they were both at Big Al’s strip club and Oyler paid a woman $800 to give him oral sex, an incident the survivor states she walked in on. The survivor further alleges a long-term relationship between Oyler and a County Board member³ as well as incidents of cheating when Oyler was staying at a nursing home briefly.

Oyler is currently out on bail. He is prohibited from being within 300 feet of his survivor or of having any contact with her. Furthermore, he is prohibited from accessing his house or vehicle without police presence. A plenary court date is scheduled for August 19^th where a judge will decide whether to uphold the order of protection, and, if so, for how long and what stipulations he must abide by.

Oyler has not released any public statement so far regarding the allegations or whether he will resign from city council. He retained Rob Hanauer to handle his various legal affairs. “We look forward to our day in court and people should not be so quick to rush to judgment,” Hanauer said but declined to comment further. Should Oyler be convicted of a felony, he will no longer be eligible to serve on city council. However, there is not currently a way for the public to recall Councilman Oyler or for the other members of City Council to remove him by office. He could chose to weather the incident and allegations and remain on City Council, though this would be hard to believe. Unless the accusations against him are complete fabrications it’s hard to envision how Oyler could survive this and still be politically viable.

If convicted, it will be his first conviction. He was arrested in 2001 in Decatur for an incident involving arson, but the charges were dropped and all reports were sealed because Oyler was a juvenile.

Zachary Oyler is innocent until proven guilty before the law.

UPDATE: On October 16th, 2020, Councilmember Zach Oyler took an Alford plea to disorderly conduct as part of an agreement to have other charges stemming from a July 2019 domestic incident dropped. Oyler & his wife have reconciled. (SEE FULL DETAILS)

1. It has been erroneously stated by many that those who are arrested for a domestic incident are required to be imprisoned for up to 72 ours. This is not the case. Domestic violence law in Illinois only states the abuser must have no contact with the survivor for 48 hours.
2. These reports have redactions with large portions of the survivor’s testimony missing.
3. It’s not explicitly stated what county the board member is a member of.