Schuylkill County Sheriff Candidate Doug Litwhiler has announced he is withdrawing from the race after allegations made on Facebook that he attempted to contact underage girls.

Litwhiler, 36, has taken down his candidate page and a statement has been posted on the page accusing him.

“I have decided to withdraw from the sheriff race in Schuylkill County. I strongly deny the allegations against me. Although your page has caused threats to be made to my family and my 9-year-old son I feel as it’s in their best interest and their safety to step aside and let someone else run.”

Litwhiler is on the Republican ballot, where he was unchallenged in the primary. He was set to face off against incumbent Sheriff Joseph Groody in November.

The anonymous page “Schuylkill County Sheriff Candidate Doug Litwhiler likes young girls” surfaced Wednesday, the day after the election.

Litwhiler, the Ringtown chief of police, denies allegations and says there are inconsistencies in reports against him. One girl said he approached her at her workplace when he was a police officer in Ashland. He said he wasn’t on the force at that time.

He said the woman’s mother dates a relative of Sheriff Joe Groody and implied Groody fostered the allegations.

Groody posted, “I would like to publicly state I had nothing to do with the accusations against my opponent Douglas Litwhiler. I am aware of numerous concerns that have been made public, through Facebook. I want to express support for all victims of sexual harassment, it’s something I take very serious. I look forward to running on my record. I won three prior elections for Sheriff and have always run positive campaigns solely on my record and qualifications. I look forward to running the same positive campaign on my record this year and continuing to serve as your Sheriff for the next four years.”