In a post on social media yesterday, Presbyterian Support Otago (PSO) said the charity had been "targeted by individuals from the United States" who were spreading "misinformation" about recently hired staff member Nicole Devereux.
"We want to reassure our community that the comments being circulated relate to an entirely different individual and have no connection whatsoever to Nicole."
She was a dedicated and valued member of their team and PSO was "deeply disappointed by this unwarranted attack", the post said.
The comments, which the Otago Daily Times has chosen not to republish, were posted to Facebook late last week.
One person — whose profile lists them as living in Houston, Texas, — reposted screenshots of posts by a different Nicole Devereux and claimed she had made derogatory comments about disabled children.
The screenshots were posted alongside one of PSO’s announcement about Ms Devereux’s appointment to the organisation.
They implied PSO should be investigated and called on others to tag "everyone and everything" Ms Devereux was affiliated with.
Some of those commenting on the person’s posts also appeared to threaten Ms Devereux.
Ms Devereux joined PSO’s Family Works team as general manager last month.
Before that, she held public sector roles at New Zealand Police, Oranga Tamariki and the office of the Regional Public Service Commissioners, among others.
PSO chief executive Robbie Moginie said they became aware of the messaging and online accusations at the weekend.
"Ms Devereux was advised, offered support and an appropriate course of action for addressing the comments was determined in collaboration with her."
Their investigations suggested that the other individual in question was based in the United States.
No police reports had been filed, but PSO would continue to monitor the situation and reconsider this position if necessary, Ms Moginie said.
