A Republican lawmaker in Kentucky facing sexual assault allegations has died of an apparent suicide.
According to a Courier Journal Journal report, a Thursday morning autopsy confirmed that Rep. Dan Johnson died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Johnson reportedly drove to a bridge in a secluded area of Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, got out of his car and shot himself.
Johnson was publicly implicated in a Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting report released Monday, in which a woman accused Johnson of molesting her in the basement of his Fern Creek church after a 2012 New Year’s Eve party when she was just 17 years old. Louisville police investigated the incident but closed the matter and did not file charges.
Johnson denied the accusation, but both GOP and Democratic lawmakers called for Johnson to resign his position representing the 49th district. Johnson, in a Tuesday press conference, again denied the accusation and declined to step down.
According to Associated Press reports, Johnson posted to Facebook a farewell to his church followers and family.
“The accusations from NPR are false GOD and only GOD knows the truth. Nothing is the way they make it out to be … GOD LOVES ALL PEOPLE NO MATTER WHAT,” Johnson wrote.
The post was taken down later Wednesday evening.
KyCIR, part of Louisville Public Media, released a statement Wednesday night in wake of Johnson’s suicide.
“All of us at Louisville Public Media are deeply sad to hear that State Representative Dan Johnson has died, apparently of suicide. We grieve for his family, friends, church community and constituents. Our Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting released a report on Johnson this week. Our aim, as always, is to provide the public with fact-based, unbiased reporting and hold public officials accountable for their actions. As part of our process, we reached out to Representative Johnson numerous times over the course of a seven-month investigation. He declined requests to talk about our findings.”
Johnson, 57, was elected to the state legislature in 2016. He is survived by his wife and five children.