Ashton Kutcher
has resigned from the charity he set up to tackle child sexual abuse, following
outrage over a letter of support to a judge after Danny Masterson's rape conviction.
In his resignation to the
charity, Thorn, Kutcher said his support letter was an "error in
judgment".
Masterson was sentenced to
30 years to life in prison for the rape of two women.
A similar letter was sent
by Kutcher's wife, actress Mila Kunis.
The letters and subsequent
apology from Kutcher and Kunis - both of whom starred in That 70s Show
alongside Masterson - were widely criticized by victims and advocacy groups.
In a resignation letter
directed to the board of Thorn and posted online, Kutcher said his decision to
step down from the board is "rooted in the recognition of recent
events".
"After my wife and I
spent several days of listening, personal reflection, learning, and
conversations with survivors and the employees and leadership at Thorn, I have
determined the responsible thing for me to do is resign as chairman of the
board,
effective
immediately," Kutcher said in the resignation letter.
"I cannot allow my
error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve,"
he added.
Established by Kutcher and
ex-wife Demi Moore in 2012, Thorn focuses on combatting the sexual exploitation of
children.
Much of the group's focus
is on the Internet and the role it plays in the spread of child sexual abuse
material and sexual slavery. To date, the group claims to have identified
27,000 child victims and removed more than two million potential sexual abuse
files from the internet.
In his resignation message,
Kutcher said his letter of support for Masterson - in which he described him as
someone who treated people with "decency" and "generosity"
- was "yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave
enough to share their experiences".
"This is precisely
what we have all worked to reverse over the last decade," he added.
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