Amid public outcry over a pardon she granted to a man who was convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case, Hungary’s conservative president is stepping down.

Unleashing an unprecedented political scandal for the long-serving nationalist government, Katalin Novak announced in a televised message on Saturday that she would resign from the presidency, an office she has held since 2022.

Novak’s decision came after over a week of public outrage, following the revelation that she issued a presidential pardon in April 2023 to a man convicted of hiding a string of child sexual abuses in a state-run children’s home.

Novak apologized and said she made “a mistake” in granting the pardon.