ALASKA
KTUU
Monday, January 31, 2005 - by Megan Baldino
Stebbins, Alaska - For decades, they buried their secrets, hoping no one would ever find out. Most of the men who say Joseph Lundowski molested them have never told anyone -- until now.
Although most still want to remain anonymous, the men find courage in numbers and are finally coming forward, not only from St. Michael, but also from the nearby villages of Hooper Bay and Stebbins.
“I didn't know he was that kind of a person.”
James Doe 4 says he was only 7 years old when the abuse began inside St. Bernard’s Church in Stebbins. He says it continued for years, and even today he can barely talk about it.
“At one time, he had three of us laying down with our pants down, taking turns on us,” he says.
He says the sexual abuse -- his first sexual experience ever -- has had a devastating effect on his life. “I thought it would be OK to have sex with another, the same sex. It really confused me.”
More than 30 years later, nearly a dozen men have gathered in the village community center in St. Michael and, for the first time ever, they've begun to realize they are not alone. As in St. Michaels, the men of Stebbins say there was a “monkey room” here, as well.
Posted by kshaw at February 1, 2005 06:19 AM