Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.
confirms his resignation on Tuesday, following allegations of sexual behavior that violated the school’s honor code.
The news comes after his former business partner, Giancarlo Granda, claimed that he had a sexual relationship with Falwell Jr. and his wife.
Granda said he was 20 years old when he met the couple while working as a pool attendant at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami in 2012.
They began a relationship in the same month with Falwell Jr.’s wife, Becki, and claimed that Falwell Jr. “enjoyed watching from the corner of the room” as he and Becki engage in sexual acts.
He was already put on indefinite leave of absence earlier this month after posting a photo of himself on Instagram with his pants unzipped and his arm around a woman who is not his wife.
Falwell Jr. defended that the Instagram post is “all in good fun,” but his actions provoked accusations of hypocrisy.
Liberty University, which was founded by Falwell’s late father, follows a strict honor code that states sexual activity is only permitted between one man and one woman within marriage.
Prior to Reuter’s release of their article about Falwell’s affairs with Granda, his lawyer had said to them that his client “categorically denies everything you indicated you intend to publish about him.”
The announcement has been finalized after a tumultuous 24 hours filled with conflicting reports about his fate.
The evangelical Christian university said on Monday that Falwell Jr. had resigned as Liberty’s president, but Falwell Jr. later contradicted those reports in interviews.
Later that day, the university issed a statement that said Falwell Jr. had agreed to resign earlier in the day but he withdrew his decision.
“Falwell responded by agreeing to resign immediately as President of Liberty University today but then instructed his attorneys to not tender the letter for immediate resignation,” the university’s statement said.