Kentucky lawmaker, accused of sexual molestation, found dead

A Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky, Dan Johnson, was found dead, just two days after allegations surfaced that he had molested a girl when she was 17.

Johnson was found dead of a single gunshot wound near Mount Washington, reported CNN, citing Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings as saying.

Billings said that Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.

"I would say it is probably suicide", he added.

Shortly before his death, he posted a long message on social media, denying the sexual assault allegations and saying they were "false . and only GOD knows the truth, nothing is the way they make it out to be".

State leaders from both parties had been calling for Johnson's immediate resignation after the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an expose on Monday detailing allegations of how Johnson woke his daughter's friend during a sleepover in 2013 and forced himself on her.