George Rekers steps down from ex-gay board

Wed. May 12, 2010 12:00 AM by OnTopMag.com

George Rekers has stepped down from the board of ex-gay group the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), Talking Points Memo reported.

Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit that advocates against ex-gay ministries, was the first to call for Rekers' resignation as the 61-year-old faced a growing gay sex scandal.

"Given the sordid and tawdry facts, he should immediate step down from NARTH's board and apologize to the LGBT community for his extreme hypocrisy and self-loathing," Besen said.

Rekers, a prominent social conservative, hired a 20-year-old escort off the pageviews of gay website Rentboy.com to accompany him on a 10-day European vacation, the Miami New Times first reported. The prostitute, named Lucien by the paper, but whose real name is Jo-Vanni Roman, claims he provided Rekers with daily erotic massages.

A second escort has since stepped forward to claim Rekers paid him for gay sex at a Chicago hotel. (Full Story)

Rekers has denied he's engaged in "inappropriate behavior," saying on a Facebook posting that he hired his travel companion to privately minister to him.

The scandal has given Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's gubernatorial campaign a black eye. McCollum urged the state to hire Rekers at a cost of $120,000 to testify as an expert witness in favor of a gay adoption ban. His opinion, however, was dismissed by the judge as not credible.

McCollum has since distance himself from Rekers, saying he "wouldn't do it again."

Rekers reportedly first offered his resignation Thursday.

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