Paul Findlay Christchurch-based glbti youth group Q-topia says its embattled ex-board member Paul Findlay acted with "utmost integrity" whilst on the board. Highly explicit pictures of Findlay interacting sexually through a phone app with a young man, now believed to be underage, have been posted online. Findlay immediately resigned from the governing board of Q-topia and from his People's Choice Labour candidacy for a community board seat in the current local body elections. "It is our understanding that Paul engaged in an online conversation with an individual on a social media internet site, who although did not identify their age at the beginning of the conversation, was later identified as likely to have been fifteen years of age," the board says in a statement announcing Findlay's resignation. Q-topia says it understands that "at no time did any interaction progress beyond the online environment." "As a board, we have every confidence that Paul's time on the Q-topia board was undertaken with the utmost integrity, and that he maintained the highest standards that are expected of all board members while undertaking Q-topia duties," the board says. "We respect Paul's decision to remove himself from the board, and believe that this decision has been undertaken to ensure that the Q-topia standards are not affected in any way." Findlay himself has not yet commented publicly on the situation.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 28th September 2013 - 10:35am