A new member of the Human Rights Commission has resigned from the group, the commission has announced.

Franklin Fahnbulleh’s appointment as commissioner was made public at the start of the year, but was swiftly overshadowed by a ZBM report of felony charges in the United States dating back to November 2002.

Mr Fahnbulleh, who is the spouse of a Bermudian, was formerly the dean of students at Howard College, Texas, where the allegations were first made.

Calls by The Royal Gazette to the Howard County District Attorney’s office were unable to establish whether any charges against Mr Fahnbulleh remained on the books. The posting of Mr Fahnbulleh, a prominent advocate for the island’s deaf community, was carried out by an independent selection committee for the HRC.

The charges against him were publicised by this newspaper in 2005, after the story was broken by the Midland Reporter Telegram newspaper.

Yesterday, HRC chairwoman Tawana Tannock said that Mr Fahnbulleh’s resignation had been effective from April 15.

“The Selection and Appointment Committee has convened and looks forward to announcing a new appointment in due course,” she added.