My personal experience goes like this, as a commoner I was not privy to anything secret about this affair or was concerned about it. The information that I got from the start to the end with the DF was one sided, the COs and other relevant elders were the ones talking on a negative light towards Franz about the affair; the common idea was that he was associated with some Evangelicals and had appeared on their TV channels. To be honest with you what was represent to me was not a big deal.
Years after that with the growth of the Internet when I became aware of the intimate details and his books, my perception about the matter changed completely.