Attorney General Curtis Hill under investigation following calls by top Indiana Republicans

Three of Indiana's top Republican leaders called on embattled Attorney General Curtis Hill to resign following allegations that he inappropriately touched four women at an Indianapolis bar in March.

In coordinated statements Thursday night, Gov. Eric Holcomb, House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate leader David Long demanded that Hill, a fellow Republican, step down immediately. They also called for an Indiana inspector general investigation — which Inspector General Lori Torres said Friday morning would occur.

A chorus of other voices, including Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch and Secretary of State Connie Lawson, both Republicans, would soon join.

Hill, who has denied any inappropriate behavior, did not respond to IndyStar requests for comment. On Tuesday, in his most recent statement to IndyStar, he pledged to remain in office.

In their joint statement, Long and Bosma said they believe Hill's accusers "are telling the truth regardless of the attorney general’s denial of these allegations."

"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," they said.

"Curtis Hill is not our employee; if he was, he would already have been fired," they said. "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.”

Holcomb agreed and said the findings of a recent legislative report about the allegations "are disturbing and, at a minimum, show a violation of the state’s zero tolerance sexual harassment policy."

"I concur with Sen. Long and Speaker Bosma that Attorney General Hill should resign," Holcomb said.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody, who had earlier pushed for Hill's resignation, renewed his call in a statement late Thursday: “Statehouse Republicans were right to echo the call for Attorney General Hill to resign amid the allegations uncovered this week. We will continue to stand with those who had the courage to come forward while, in the meantime, it seems Hoosiers will also continue to wait for Curtis Hill to do the right thing.”

House Minority Leader Terry Goodin, D-Austin, also joined: "Now that his governor and his party leadership in the Indiana General Assembly have weighed in, let me make it unanimous: Mr. Attorney General, it is time for you to go."

Thursday's announcements from Holcomb and other elected leaders follow an IndyStar report Monday about an investigation into allegations made by four women, including an Indiana lawmaker, that Hill inappropriately touched them during a party celebrating the end of the legislative session at AJ's Lounge, a bar just south of Downtown.

The lawmaker said Hill was drunk and twice reached under her clothes and grabbed her buttocks, the second time after she told him to "back off," according to a confidential memo prepared by an outside law firm at the request of legislative leaders.

A legislative staffer said Hill groped her buttocks, even after she tried to remove his hand. Another legislative employee said Hill hugged her to him and a third staffer said Hill rubbed her back for two minutes.

Several women also said Hill told women at the bar they needed to show more skin or leg to receive free drinks or faster service.

Read: Here's the memo outlining allegations against Attorney General Curtis Hill

Hackney: Curtis Hill groping investigation can't be trusted

The calls for resignation were the latest turn in a roller-coaster week at the Statehouse.

The allegations against Hill — made to legislative leaders May 14 to 17 — were first made public Monday when IndyStar disclosed an eight-page confidential memo, dated June 18, that summarizes interviews legislative leaders or their attorneys conducted with six women who attended the March party.

At the time, the four legislative leaders — Bosma, Long, Goodin and Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson — said in a statement that their investigation was completed.

"...the matter has been addressed with the Attorney General to the satisfaction of the employees involved," they said. "Protection of House and Senate employees is of paramount importance to legislative leaders.”

The next day, Bosma and Long launched an investigation into who leaked the contents of the memo, calling it an "egregious breach of confidentiality."

None of the legislative staffers are identified by name in the memo, but sources tell IndyStar they included employees of both the House and the Senate and included at least one staffer from the Democratic and Republican caucuses. The lawmaker is identified in the memo, but IndyStar does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual misconduct.

On Wednesday night, Holcomb returned to Indianapolis after an anniversary celebration in Montana with his wife.

Within 24 hours, the three demanded Hill's resignation and requested an Inspector General investigation.

It remains unclear why legislative leaders waited until Thursday — seven weeks after the initial allegations and more than two weeks after receiving the memo.

Torres, the Inspector General appointed by Holcomb, has the power to investigate criminal, ethics and efficiency violations in Indiana government.

"Both Republican and Democrat legislative leadership have officially requested the Inspector General to investigate the allegations against Attorney General Curtis Hill," Torres said Friday morning. "Our office will proceed with that investigation and conduct a full and fair review of the facts as it would with any investigation undertaken by the Office of Inspector General."

Criminal investigations into statewide office holders aren't unprecedented for the inspector general's office.

In 2014, Tony Bennett, then Indiana's elected superintendent of public instruction, stood accused of several potential violations of wire fraud during a 2012 re-election campaign. David Thomas, the inspector general at the time, turned over a lengthy investigation to both federal and Marion County prosecutors. Neither office pursued criminal charges.

In groping cases, investigators typically consider two criminal charges in Indiana: battery and sexual battery.

Battery, a Class B misdemeanor, is a less severe charge that carries a potential sentence of 180 days in a county jail and a fine up to $1,000.

The more severe charge is sexual battery, which is defined in Indiana code as touching "another person's genitals, pubic area, buttocks or female breast when that person is unaware that the touching is occurring."

That charge is a Level 6 felony and carries a potential sentence of six months to 2.5 years in state prison or a county jail and a fine up to $10,000.

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Call IndyStar reporter Ryan Martin at 317-444-6294. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @ryanmartin