Goddard Group founder Gary Goddard has taken a leave of absence from the entertainment design firm, following allegations against him dating back to his time as a Hollywood writer and producer.

Goddard has taken the leave of absence less than a month after ER actor Anthony Edwards published a post on Medium accusing him of molesting him “for years” as a child. Goddard denies all claims against him.

In a statement, Barry Kemper, COO of the Goddard Group, said Goddard had taken the leave to allow the company and its employees to continue their projects “undistracted by recent allegations made against him”.

“We believe this move is in the best interest of the company, its employees and clients,” Kemper said.

Effective immediately, Taylor Jeffs – who has served for more than 14 years as Goddard Group’s director of design – will assume the role of president and chief creative officer for the design firm. He previously worked at Disney, where he was a research specialist.