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An upstate House candidate pontificated about the Epstein files and a would-be politician’s assault scandal – despite hitting the campaign trail alongside his registered sex offender brother-in-law, The Post has learned.
Democrat Aaron Gies, who’s looking to unseat two-term Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy, was assisted by his brother-in-law Christopher Nathan White, a former North Carolina teacher convicted on rape and sex offense charges involving two teen students – who allegedly shot video at a winter “Polar Plunge” event.
“He was there,” Gies told The Post Sunday of the campaign plunge event that unfolded Dec. 26, 2025.
“Chris is not part of my campaign,” he said but noted that White “did his time” for his crime. He called the situation a “distraction” from his push for better health care and housing opportunities.
“I have not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing and have not covered up criminal wrongdoing on the part of others,” the candidate said.
Gies, a theology professor at St. Bonaventure University, had gotten on his high horse last week and urged Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop his election bid due to claims of rape and sexual assault.
He also slammed Langworthy for allegedly using his position on the House Oversight Committee to block “accountability for people in the Epstein files.”
But those comments came after his brother-in-law appeared at his own campaign event, despite doing five years behind bars after he was convicted of one count of rape and two counts of sex offense against two students, ages 15 and 17.
White moved to New York after getting out of prison and now works at a veterinary clinic run by Gies’ wife and his sister in Olean. He’s listed as a Level 2 Sex Offender in the state Division of Criminal Justice Services’ Sex Offender Registry.
Retired Marine Chris Hahn, who attended the polar plunge event, said he was left feeling uneasy when he found out who shot the video at the fundraiser, which saw participants in bathing suits jump into a frigid pond at a private residence.
“I was shocked to see someone like that would be on the campaign trail — brother-in-law or not,” said Hahn, who attended with his 15-year-old daughter.
“Wow. Do people who want to vote for Geis know this?” Hahn told The Post. “You don’t have a leg to stand on. You’re not setting a good example.”
Langworthy, the Republican incumbent, unloaded on Geis for bad judgment.
“To bring a convicted sex offender and someone guilty of 2nd degree rape of a minor to campaign events is deeply, deeply disturbing and shows an alarming lack of judgment for any adult, let alone someone seeking public office,” Langworthy told The Post.
“As members of Congress, we have an enormous responsibility to put in place laws that protect victims and children, not put them at risk.”
Gies is looking to unseat Langworthy in New York’s 23rd Congressional District that includes a large swath of the suburbs outside of Buffalo.
Active registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 209,390 to 144,342 in the district although there are 132,176 non-affiliated voters in the 23rd, according to the latest state Board of Elections enrollment figures.
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