Tennessee Pastor Who Received Ovation After Admitting 'Sexual Incident' With Teen Resigns

Andy Savage, a Tennessee megachurch pastor who admitted to a "sexual incident" with a teenager 20 years ago, resigned from his position Tuesday.

He had been on a leave of absence from the Highpoint Church in Memphis since January, after a woman came forward and alleged that she had been assaulted by him when she was a 17-year-old high school student and he was a 22-year-old youth minister.

In a statement on the Highpoint Church website, Savage announced his resignation and admitted wrongdoing.

"I have come to see that many wrongs occurred in 1998," Savage said.

"The first was my inappropriate relationship with Jules [Woodson], which was not only immoral, but meets the definition of abuse of power since I was her youth pastor," the pastor wrote. "Therefore, when our relationship became physical, there could be no claim of mutual consent."

He admitted to having wronged her again by not owning up to the attack until two decades later.

Savage had earlier confessed to assaulting Woodson to his congregation and received a standing ovation, with the confession live-streamed on the church's website.

In his statement, Savage said he regretted using his position as a pastor to focus on his own plight, rather than that of his victim.

"When Jules cried out for justice, I carelessly turned the topic to my own story of moral change, as if getting my own life in order should help to make up for what she went through and continues to go through," Savage said.

"I agree with Jules that, of all places, we as the Church should be getting this right," Savage continued, adding: "After much prayer and counsel, I now believe it's appropriate for me to resign from my staff position at Highpoint Church and step away from ministry in order to do everything I can to right the wrongs of the past."

Woodson has described the assault in a posting on Watch Keep, a blog for sexual assault victims. She said she had been inspired to speak out by the #MeToo movement, under which victims of sexual assault across the world have shared their stories. In the posting, she described how Savage drove her to an isolated location, sexually assaulted her, then begged for forgiveness and pleaded with her "not to tell anyone what had just happened."

Savage's resignation follows a probe of the pastor's conduct carried out Texas-based law firm Cantey & Hanger on behalf of the church.

The investigation found "no other instances of abuse in Andy's ministry" and concluded that Savage should resign, regardless.

"The leadership team at Highpoint Church agrees that Andy's resignation is appropriate, given the reasons stated in his resignation statement," the church wrote.

It said its initial support for Savage after the allegation was made public was "defensive rather than empathetic in its initial reaction to Ms. Jules Woodson's communication."