A charity plans to remove a member of its advisory board and report itself to the regulator after learning that the man had previously been investigated over sexual harassment.
A 2012 investigation into Daniel Wright, an advisor to the British False Memory Society, found that his behaviour towards women “rises to the level of harassment”, according to reports.
Wright has sat on the charity’s advisory board since 2004. He did not respond to an email requesting comment on the BFMS decision.
Journalists in the United States uncovered the findings last year. BFMS said that it “knew nothing” about the investigation until last week and would remove Wright from its list of advisors.
Two years ago the charity removed another advisor from the board after it emerged he had a conviction for sex offences.
BFMS said it was also going to report the situation with Wright to the Charity Commission as a serious incident.
Las Vegas Review Journal reported last August that Wright was investigated after allegations that he had made sexually inappropriate comments and stalked women in his department while working at Florida International University.
The FIU investigation interviewed about 10 people and identified “a level of inappropriate behaviour and lack of professional judgement, involving women, that rises to the level of harassment based on their gender”, the Journal said.
It reported that Wright left the job a few months after the investigation concluded.
BFMS’s work includes producing research into the issue of false memory, which means it often looks at cases where alleged victims and perpetrators contest historical sexual allegations.
Kevin Felstead, the charity’s chief executive, said the news was “a total shock”.
He said that, since joining BFMS in 2014: “I have never had any contact with Dan Wright whatsoever. No email, no verbal contact, nothing at all.”
Felstead added: “Of course we don’t stand by him. Of course we don’t support his behaviour in any way, shape or form.”
The charity will “take some sanctions, it is inevitable that we will have to remove him from the advisory board”, he said.
Felstead said that the charity would also file a serious incident report with the Charity Commission.