 By Lynn Hulsey , Staff Writer 
 
 DAYTON — Eric W. Deaton, a Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate, was indicted Tuesday, Aug. 31, for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Greg Flannagan, spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. 
 
 Deaton, 42, of New Lebanon is to be arraigned Sept. 14 in county common pleas court on the third-degree felony count. The indictment alleges that between March 20, 2006, and March 25, 2007, Deaton engaged in sexual conduct with a girl who was between the ages of 13 and 15, Flannagan said. If found guilty Deaton could face five years in prison, and a fine of $10,000. Deaton is running against Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Lee Fisher for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. Deaton was a member of the Constitution party. The poster also says, “Return moral citizens to office.” 
 
 Deaton said he would have no further comment until a news conference this morning in the Dayton offices of his attorneys, Rion & Rion.
– Another day, another political sex scandal—but this one involves a minor. Ohio's Eric W. Deaton, Senate candidate for the conservative Constitution Party, was indicted Tuesday for having alleged sexual contact with a young girl, the Dayton Daily News reports. Deaton, 42, is accused of having unlawful sexual conduct with the girl, who he reportedly met at his church, while she was between the ages of 13 and 15 ... and he's calling the whole mess "politically motivated." He adds that “the powers that be don’t like” his decision to run for office, and says he'll stay in the race despite his Sept. 14 arraignment and the fact that he faces the possibility of five years in prison. According to WDTN Dayton, police say they have hotel surveillance video and receipts that prove their case ... and Deaton's lawyer says those very items (somehow) help prove that his client is innocent. Deaton, a married Cub Scout leader with three kids, says he has Tea Party endorsements.