Indiana attorney general won’t be charged in alleged groping

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill (R) will not be charged over allegations that he groped a state lawmaker and several staffers.

The Associated Press reported that special prosecutor Daniel Sigler announced Tuesday that bringing charges against Hill would be difficult due to the time that elapsed between the alleged incident in March and the filing of the claims against Hill.

{mosads}Sigler, who said he believed the women’s stories to be “true and credible,” said that Hill had been under investigation for misdemeanor battery as a result of the incident but that he did not see sufficient evidence for a prosecution. Hill had faced calls to resign from top Republicans in the state, including Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Sigler’s announcement follows a confidential memo leaked to the media that alleged Hill had groped four women, including three who went public, at an Indianapolis party celebrating the end of the legislative session.

Hill denied the allegations earlier this year in a statement to The Indianapolis Star, saying that “at no time was my behavior inappropriate nor did I touch anyone in an inappropriate manner.”

“The atmosphere was light and jovial, as would be expected in a bar,” Hill said at the time. “I interacted with several people — talking, laughing, and telling stories.”

Despite his denials, Holcomb, as well as state House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) and state Senate Majority Leader David Long (R) called on Hill to step down, writing in coordinated statements in July that he could not perform his duties while under the cloud of the investigation.

“We do not believe that Curtis Hill, as chief law enforcement officer of the State of Indiana, can continue to perform his duties, nor should he, and we call for his immediate resignation,” Bosma and Long wrote in a joint statement.

“Curtis Hill is not our employee; if he was, he would already have been fired. Because we cannot terminate his employment, we ask instead for him to own up to his actions, apologize publicly to the victims, and tender his resignation immediately,” they added.