Rick Santorum 'Praying for Duggar Girls' After Molestation Scandal

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who recently announced his plans to run for president in 2016, has said that he is "sickened" by the recent scandal involving the Duggar family of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting."

Santorum, who announced his plans to pursue a second presidential run this week, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday that he is "sickened" by the news of the alleged molestation.

"I was sickened by it, just sickened by it," Santorum told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "I pray for those girls, in particular. To have gone through that is just hard to think about."

As The Huffington Post notes, Josh Duggar, the 27-year-old at the heart of the current molestation allegations, actively campaigned for Santorum during his failed 2012 presidential run.

Santorum took to social media this week to announce his plans to run for president, saying: "Today I announce my candidacy for President of the United States!"

"Join me at ricksantorum.com and let's take back America!" he added.

Duggar recently issued an apology following allegations that he molested five underage girls when he was 14 years old. Duggar had reportedly admitted the incident to his father, Jim Bob Duggar, who then reported the transgression to the Arkansas State Police when Josh turned 18.

While Santorum has distanced himself from the popular reality show family, another 2016 presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, has voiced his support for the family.

"Josh's actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, 'inexcusable,' but that doesn't mean 'unforgivable,' " Huckabee said in his Facebook post last week. "He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story."