The vice president of the nation’s key trade group for real estate appraisals has agreed to step away from his duties, after a New York Times investigation exposed allegations from women that he had groped them without their consent.
A statement posted on LinkedIn on Monday said the vice president, Craig Steinley, would immediately withdraw from making public appearances as an officer of the Appraisal Institute. The statement, which was posted by the group’s president, did not say that Mr. Steinley, 64, had resigned.
Multiple women said they had been harassed or subject to inappropriate conduct by Mr. Steinley, and The Times revealed that the Appraisal Institute paid $412,000 to a former employee to privately settle her sexual harassment claim against him and the organization.
Mr. Steinley denied the accusations in written responses through his lawyer, Craig Capilla. “Mr. Steinley wholly denies any allegations of any unwanted touching or harassment. It simply did not occur,” Mr. Capilla wrote in an email.
In an interview on Monday, Mr. Capilla stressed that Mr. Steinley had not forfeited his position. “He has not resigned,” he said. “This is still an ongoing issue. I don’t think final decisions have been made.”
Representatives for the Appraisal Institute did not respond to emails and calls on Monday requesting further clarification about Mr. Steinley’s status.