Rep. Jud McMillin, a rising star in the state's Republican Party, abruptly resigned Tuesday.
The Indianapolis Star has learned that the surprise resignation came after a sexually explicit video was sent via text message from McMillin's cell phone. It's unclear who sent the text or how broadly it was distributed.
The Brookville Republican sent a separate text message apologizing to his contacts for "anything offensive" they may have received after he said he lost control of his cell phone.
McMillin, whose Facebook page says he is married, did not respond to messages from The Star seeking comment. He said in an emailed statement only that he has "decided the time is right for me to pass the torch and spend more time with my family."
"Now I want to focus all of my attention on making my family's world a better place," he said.
McMillin said in a text message last week, "My phone was stolen in Canada and out of my control for about 24 hours. I have just been able to reactivate it under my control. Please disregard any messages you received recently. I am truly sorry for anything offensive you may have received."
McMillin was elected to the District 68 seat in southeastern Indiana in 2010. He quickly rose through the ranks to become majority floor leader and was widely considered one of the more ambitious lawmakers in the House Republican caucus.
"Our caucus is thankful for Representative McMillin's service to our state, and we fully support his decision to step down in order to focus on his family," House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Bosma said House Republicans will caucus in the coming days to fill the majority floor leader's position vacated by McMillin.
McMillin played a key role in a recent overhaul of the state's criminal code and led an unsuccessful effort to drug test welfare recipients. He was also one of more than two dozen co-sponsors of the state's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
His work earned him the respect of his caucus, vaulting him to the No. 3 position in the Republican-controlled House.
But some questioned his addition to the leadership team given his controversial past.
In 2005, his career as an assistant county prosecutor in Ohio came to an end amid questions about his sexual conduct. He admitted to a relationship with the complainant in a domestic violence case he was prosecuting, but he insisted the relationship began after he stepped off the case, according to the Dayton Daily News. He resigned a week after he stopped working on the case.
An Indianapolis Star investigation in 2013 also found that McMillin and other government officials in southeastern Indiana supported grants for companies to which they had close family or financial ties. In McMillin's case, he advocated for a $600,000 grant for a project involving Destination Brookville, a company he started and later ceded to his mother and family friends.
McMillin's exit is the second high-profile departure of a GOP House leader in as many years. Former Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, resigned last year amid allegations he helped kill a bill that would have hurt his private business interests.
It's also the second sex-related scandal to rock the Indiana House this year. Rep. Justin Moed, D-Indianapolis, apologized earlier this year after a website exposed his sexting activities with Indiana porn star Sydney Leathers.
(c)2015 The Indianapolis Star
