Humane Society CEO accused of sexual harassment

The Humane Society of the United States is investigating claims CEO Wayne Pacelle sexually harassed female employees.

According to a release from the Chair of the Humane Society of the United States Board of Directors, a special committee has been put together to address the allegations against Pacelle.

At this time, no information is being shared about the investigation, its findings, or the Humane Society's plans to move forward after this scandal.

"We believe it is important to deal in substance and not rumors, and our process is designed to ensure confidentiality and fair consideration of these issues," Eric Bernthal said in his statement.

The Washington Post reported that there are currently three existing complaints of sexual harassment against Pacelle.

The oldest of the three complaints dates back to 2005 when an intern alleged that the executive asked her to meet him outside of work at a coffee shop, a Humane Society memo obtained by the newspaper revealed.

According to the alleged victim's account, Pacelle pulled her close to him, began slow dancing with her and gave her a non-consensual kiss.

A second woman said she often travelled with Pacelle on business and that donors regularly mentioned his desire to be intimate with her, suggesting that dating him would be a career boost for her.

She claimed that on a 2006 work trip Pacelle asked her to stop by his hotel room after an event.

When she arrived, he allegedly asked her if he could masturbate in front of her, requested that she strip naked and offered to perform oral sex on her, two people briefed on the incident and the memo told the Washington Post.

The woman refused and was allegedly threatened by Pacelle, who told her that if she told anyone, she would destroy the Humane Society and lose her job.

The third woman, who joined the company in 2012, said Pacelle visited her in her office late one night and at one point began salsa dancing alone and asked her to join him, the outlet reported.

Several female leaders within the organization said their warnings to others about the CEO's conduct were ignored, sources said.

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Per the memo, the investigation into Pacelle's workplace conduct reportedly found that the Humane Society had offered settlements to three additional employees who claim they were either demoted or dismissed after reporting him.

One woman said she received a settlement after complaining about Pacelle's alleged girlfriend joining her team without being qualified. She claimed she was shut out of work opportunities, according to the memo

A major concern among those who spoke with the Washington Post was that the money being used to settle with those affected by Pacelle's alleged behavior was being misdirected from protecting wildlife.

Investigators at the law firm Morgan Lewis reportedly interviewed 33 people, including Pacelle.

According to the Washington Post, they found a common perception among Humane Society employees that certain women at the nonprofit agency owed their success to romantic relationships with Pacelle.

The aforementioned memo stated that a number of high-ranking female employees warned Pacelle that sexual relationships with subordinates, donors and volunteers could be damaging to the organization.

Pacelle did not directly change his behavior, according to the memo obtained by the publication, but claimed he'd changed his ways.

Speaking with the Washington Post, Pacelle denied all three complaints against him.

"This is a coordinated attempt to attack me and the organization," he alleged.

"And I absolutely deny any suggestion that I did anything untoward."

Although he denied sexually harassing or assaulting anyone, he did tell the paper he was "familiar" with the allegations and the women who made them.

"The one complaint about the salsa dancing, I simply had a conversation with a person and it turned into that," he said.

"The person with the hotel - I'm familiar with that. I worked with the person eight years after that allegation. The person never said a thing to me about any harassment, and I certainly never invited her to a hotel room."

Pacelle called claims he'd had consensual sex with both Human Society donors and volunteers "just ad hominem attacks."

The Human Society CEO was adamant that he was never in a relationship with a subordinate either.

He also said he hadn't received any warnings from anyone at the company about his conduct.

"Absolutely not. I enjoy the support of senior women throughout the organization. No one has ever warned me of such a thing, ever," Pacelle told the Washington Post.

Some Humane Society employees defended Pacelle's character while speaking with the Washington Post.

A number of them described him as an adult engaging in consensual relationships with other adults.