Catholic charity sacks former Oxfam employee accused of sexual misconduct in Haiti

A Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod) employee accused of sexual misconduct when he worked for Oxfam in Haiti has been dismissed from his current role, the charity said.

Director Chris Bain (pictured) said the employee was sacked after the charity received a reference from Oxfam which confirmed the allegations against him.

Cafod said it was unaware of the allegations, which relate to the man’s time working for Oxfam in Haiti in 2011, until it was contacted recently by The Times newspaper.

The scandal has prompted an “unreserved apology” from Oxfam to the Government, donors, supporters and the people of Haiti over its handling of incidents including the alleged use of prostitutes by workers, in the earthquake-hit country.

The Catholic overseas development charity put the staff member on leave while they investigated before dismissing him on Wednesday.

It received two references when the employee first applied for the role in 2014, Mr Bain said.

The candidate did not disclose the circumstances of his departure from Oxfam at this time – a breach of Cafod’s code of behaviour, he added.

Cafod said there had been no formal complaints of misconduct against the employee during his time with them.

Mr Bain said the charity had a “zero-tolerance” approach to misconduct, adding: “Our mission to support people to live life to the fullest gives us a moral duty to their care – we will not let them down.”

Cafod has investigated two cases of sexual misconduct allegations against employees overseas since 2010.

The first investigation yielded no evidence to require action, while in the second case the employee was dismissed, it said.

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