Revelation of 1980s child sex abuse by Delaware Democratic Party leader divides statewide and Sussex leaders

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When Jeffrey Balk moved to Delaware some two decades ago, he left behind a dark and sordid past from his earlier life in Missouri.

Balk, now 67, had been released from prison in the mid-1990s after serving several years behind bars for sodomy and deviant sexual assault. Balk admitted in court in 1988 to paying three young teenage boys for sex with cash and gifts, such as concert tickets and electronic gadgets.

Balk was 28 and managing a roller skating rink southwest of St. Louis when he was arrested in 1986, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The boys told police they were about 14 years old when they met Balk about three years earlier at a miniature golf course he managed, and reported more than 60 incidents of abuse by him, the newspaper reported. He pleaded guilty to 17 felonies and received a 10-year sentence, the newspaper reported.

His convictions didn’t escape the attention of Delaware law enforcement authorities after he moved to the First State, however. Balk was listed on Tier II of Delaware’s sex offender registry. Tier II is for offenders deemed as “moderate risk,” who must remain on the registry for 25 years after their release from custody.

Balk had petitioned in 2015 to be moved to Tier I for low-risk offenders, but a Superior Court judge denied his request because his victims were minors. Balk is no longer on the registry because he was released from prison in Missouri more than 25 years ago.

In Delaware, Balk has established himself as a business leader in Rehoboth Beach. He owned Snyder’s Candy for more than a decade. He published EXP, a now-defunct LGBTQ newspaper. He currently is general manager of the nonprofit FM station Radio Rehoboth, where he hosts the hourlong “Daybreak Morning Show.”

In recent years, Balk has also been active in local politics, and in March was elected chair of the Sussex County Democratic Committee.

His Instagram page, @rehobothjeff, which is now private, was filled with photos of Balk posing with the state’s Democratic luminaries, including U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride.

While a conservative radio commentator in Sussex County had reported on Balk’s crimes in 2006, at the time he was not prominent in county politics.

Balk initially resists state Democratic chair’s call to resign

But this month, an investigation by online media outlet Spotlight Delaware into Balk’s sexual abuse of teen boys triggered a behind-the-scenes battle between Sussex County’s Democratic leaders and the state Democratic Party chair.

Evelyn Brady, a Wilmington-area resident who was elected state chair over the summer, told WHYY News on Monday that she asked Balk to leave his post early this month, “shortly after learning” about his criminal past.

But Balk balked at quitting and his fellow leaders on the Sussex County Democratic Committee wrote Brady on Oct. 13, urging her “to withdraw your demands for Jeff’s resignation, and encourage those who are aligned with you to do the same.”

Arguing that there was “no basis” to remove Balk because of past crimes, “let alone someone who committed that crime nearly four decades ago,” Sussex leaders pleaded with Brady to reconsider her position.

“The leadership of the Sussex Party have no intention of abandoning our chair,” the letter concluded. “Jeff Balk is a ‘second chance’ success story and a positive example of what those who commit serious transgressions can achieve if given the opportunity and support.”

The letter, signed by Sussex Vice Chairs Loretta Benson and Tim Garrahan and more than a dozen other committee leaders, also offered a strident defense of Balk.

Balk had been a model citizen since moving to Delaware, the letter said, and didn’t deserve to be punished again.

“In recent years, our party has advocated restoring full rights to those who have completed all conditions of their sentences,” the letter said. “We are blessed with many productive citizens who had serious transgressions when young and became important contributors to our society — this includes members of Congress and even judges. If the convicted were to have their errors follow them the rest of their lives, it would be impossible for them to succeed. That is why so many believe in second chances.”

The letter also credited Balk for helping to retain Democratic seats in Sussex, and to win seats from Republicans. Sussex is the only one of Delaware’s three counties where Republicans have a majority of voters and, by extension, more seats in the General Assembly.

“We believe Jeff is a large part of the recent growth and electoral success” of Sussex Democrats, the letter said. “Under Jeff’s leadership we are well on our way to flipping additional seats in 2026 and beyond. We need Jeff.”

Benson and Garrahan did not return calls by WHYY News to discuss the letter or Balk’s past.

Brady did not budge, however.

And over the weekend, after Spotlight Delaware published its expose, the state Republican Party waded into the controversy, issuing a statement that members were “appalled by revelations” that Balk “is a convicted sex offender with a long history of crimes against minors and that members of the Democrat Party continue to stand by him in a position of leadership.”

The GOP’s letter excoriated Sussex Democrats for “defending him, citing ‘second chances’ and political performance as justification for keeping him in charge. This is beyond unacceptable. It is deeply troubling that any political organization in Delaware would tolerate, much less support, someone with such a record of predation against children.”

The Sussex County Republican Committee also chimed in, saying their Democratic colleagues had decided to “put political gain over public safety” and calling the Dems’ position a “moral failure.”

‘Stepping down to ensure I do not become a distraction’

Balk’s resolve to remain in office collapsed, however, and on Sunday he submitted his resignation as Sussex chair.

“I am stepping down to ensure that I do not become a distraction to the candidates who are running in the 2026 cycle, a critical time for our county, state and country,” he wrote.

“While I wish my resignation came under different circumstances, I remain a proud Democrat, and I look forward to finding ways to continue supporting Sussex Dems and achieving the progress that is possible when Democrats stand up for their values.”

Balk would not agree to an interview with WHYY News. He was on air Tuesday at Radio Rehoboth, reading local and national news and discussing several timely topics and goings-on  in coastal Sussex — but not his own situation.

Brady also would not speak with WHYY News, but emailed a statement that said she persisted in asking for Balk to step down, even after he “indicated he did not intend to do so.”

Now that he has done so, Brady said that the next step is for the party’s leaders in Sussex to choose a new chair and remain “focused on the important work of supporting candidates who will fight for the principles of the Democratic Party.”

Republican leaders said in interviews that Balk did the right thing, although they continued to criticize those who wanted him to remain.

State GOP Chair Gene Truono said at first blush he’d considered that Balk’s crimes were from the 1980s, but decided that they were “heinous” and in addition, had occurred dozens of times.

“This wasn’t just one isolated incident where he had a failure in judgment,” Truono said. “This was multiple sex offenses against multiple different youth.”

That’s what makes the vehement support by Sussex’s Democratic leadership so galling, Truono said. He also said the party should have known about Balk’s past before letting him assume a leadership post.

“Instead of denouncing it right away, they actually reiterated their support for him, which is kind of shocking,” Truono said. “I think the real story for us is that the Democratic Party always seems to want to take the higher moral ground, and when it comes to one of their own, they support it, which I just think is abhorrent.”

Sussex County GOP Chair Daniel Willis agreed, calling the debacle a breach of the public trust.

“Not only was the trust permanently shattered by these allegations of his past transgressions, it also showcases the moral judgment of the executive committee in the Delaware Sussex County Democrat Party,” Willis said. “The people that they are abandoning are not their chair, but they are abandoning every victim who ever had the courage to come out and speak against sexual assault.”