Indiana House majority leader resigns after apologetic text

INDIANAPOLIS - A top lawmaker who abruptly quit the Indiana House says he made mistakes that he needs to remedy with his family, a week after apologizing to friends and acquaintances for "anything offensive" they may have received from his cellphone.

House Majority Leader Jud McMillin, a Republican from Brookville, said in a Facebook post Wednesday that he was giving up his seat to focus on his family. He did not elaborate on what mistakes he made. He officially resigned Tuesday.

It's not McMillin's first brush with ethics issues while in public office. Ten years ago, a domestic-violence victim said they had a sexual relationship while he was handling her case as an assistant prosecutor in Montgomery County, Ohio.

He had been the second-ranking member of the Indiana House since November, following a rapid climb after being elected to the legislature in 2010. He was a prominent supporter of the state's religious-objections law, which ignited a political firestorm during this year's legislative session over concern that it could sanction discrimination against gay couples. He has been an outspoken proponent of drug-testing welfare recipients.

Last week, McMillan texted multiple people stating that his cellphone had been stolen and apologizing for messages they may have received. Details about the content of those messages have not been revealed.

In the text, McMillin said that his cellphone had been stolen in Canada and that he had gotten it back a day later. He asks the recipients of the text to disregard any previous messages, saying he was "truly sorry for anything offensive you may have received."

In the Ohio incident in 2005, McMillin resigned as a prosecutor just weeks after he withdrew from the domestic-violence case involving the woman he had a relationship with. She sued him for legal malpractice the following year, but the suit was withdrawn.

She said in a sworn affidavit that they had texted each other photographs of themselves that were "sexual in nature."

McMillin said in court documents that the relationship had been voluntary and that it did not start until after he quit the prosecutor's staff.