(The Center Square) — Embattled New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell has stepped down following an investigation that revealed damaging sexual harassment claims against the top Democrat, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.

“I gave the lieutenant governor until today to resign,” Sherrill told reporters at a press conference late Friday afternoon. “He submitted his resignation to me this afternoon, which I accepted.”

Caldwell denied the allegations detailed in the 61-page report released Thursday night, which stemmed from a four-month investigation and accused him of improper behavior towards staffers and other women. Caldwell released a defiant statement criticizing the report and claiming he was denied due process during the investigation.

Late Thursday, Sherrill took the extraordinary step of calling on Caldwell to step down despite the fact that he hasn't been charged with any crimes, saying the evidence from the investigation was too damaging.

"These violations substantiated in the investigation reflect a pattern of behavior that does not meet the standards of this administration," the top Democrat said.

By Friday morning, several top Democratic lawmakers and members of the state’s Republican minority had publicly called for his resignation.

Nearly a dozen prominent Black New Jersey politicians signed onto a letter welcoming the resignation of Caldwell — a Methodist pastor and former president of Centenary University — saying he had become a "distraction."

"By choosing to step down and ending this controversy, he has put the interests of the people of New Jersey and the work of our state ahead of himself,” the statement read.

Sherrill, a former congresswoman who took over the governor's office in January following a November election win, revealed the internal investigation earlier this month and urged possible victims to come forward to authorities.

But the governor was also criticized for allowing Caldwell to serve as acting New Jersey governor for several days while she traveled to Massachusetts and other states to campaign for congressional candidates, even as he was under investigation.

Caldwell — the son of a pastor who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement — was a political newcomer who was tapped by Sherrill last July to run for the governor's office as a candidate for lieutenant governor. The two were sworn into office in January after defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli and his running mate, James Gannon.

Under New Jersey's state constitution, Sherrill has 45 days to name Caldwell’s replacement.