By George Brennan
Cape Cod Times
April 6, 2011
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110406/NEWS11/110409855/-1/NEWS
[with video]
 |
| A flatbed truck carrying a pickup leaves Camp Good News in Sandwich late this morning. A man, an apparent suicide victim, was found dead today at the camp. |
FORESTDALE – The man who apparently killed himself at Camp Good News this morning was Charles R. Devita, a longtime camp employee who was under investigation by authorities after a complaint was filed this week about sexual abuse at the camp a generation ago.
In the wake of the apparent suicide, three more people who say they were abused at Camp Good News came forward today and asked attorney Mitchell Garabedian to represent them. Two named Devita as the attacker and the other claimed abuse by a different person, the attorney said this afternoon.
The Boston attorney said he plans to continue to investigate the claims of his three clients and will consider a civil suit against the camp.
Police and camp officials are not identifying the suicide victim but longtime camp volunteers Bob and Marilyn Werner arrived at the camp office early this afternoon to offer support and condolences to their friends and camp owners, the Willard family, on the death of Devita.
"He was talented and dedicated to the camp," said Marilyn Werner. Devita, 43, has been associated with the camp since he was a camper himself, they said. "He did just about everything," she said. "Chuck was really a giving person."
Devita was the subject of a new investigation by the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office into a complaint about abuse of a 10-year-old boy at the camp 26 years ago, Garabedian said. Devita was either a camp counselor or assistant director at the camp when he allegedly repeatedly assaulted the victim throughout the summer, he said.
A complaint involving that client was filed on Monday by Garabedian, who told the Times on Tuesday that state police had already begun the investigation. The district attorney's office has not identified who made the complaint or its target.
Garabedian said he talked to the victim today about Devita's suicide. "He's saddened by the circumstances.It's an extremely emotional time for him."
Devita's body was found at about 10 a.m. in his vehicle in a wooded area at the camp "an apparent victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound," said Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe and Sandwich Police Chief Peter Wack in a press release that did not identify Devita by name.
"Notwithstanding the discovery today, any and all allegations of abuse will continue to be investigated concerning this camp," the press release said.
Camp Good News issued the following statement early this afternoon: "The Camp Good News family is deeply saddened by the loss of our long time employee. Our heartfelt prayers are with Chuck's family".
Quoting a source, the Boston Herald is reporting that Devita left a couple of notes indicating he was going to take his own life. The notes indicated that he was "tired of being accused" of molestation and also said goodbyes to loved ones, the source told the Herald.
Camp Good News came under scrutiny in February, when U.S. Sen. Scott Brown released a memoir, "Against All Odds," in which he said a counselor at a "Christian" summer camp on Cape Cod molested him in the 1970s. Camp Good News officials identified their camp as one attended by Brown and apologized for anything that had happened on their campus.
Devita is not same person Brown described, according to sources close to the latest investigation. However, Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Brian Glenny said Tuesday that the DA's office had received more than one phone call regarding incidents at the camp since Brown's book was published.
However, Devita was the focus of an investigation into child pornography at the camp in 2002, according to a former camp counselor and official sources. The investigation was eventually dropped but it did cost Devita a part-time job with Sandwich Community Schools, according to a former school official who asked to remain anonymous about the personnel matter. The police brought allegations about the camp employee to the school's attention, he said.
"We can't take any chances with that stuff," he said. "We had to let him go."
Jane Brooks, current camp director, insisted Tuesday the 2002 investigation was about adult, not child, pornography.
The employee, whom she did not identify, "was sick about it" and "made a complete turnaround," she said. She described the employee as a beloved and valuable member of the community.
"(Devita) was willing to do just about anything," Bob Werner said, describing Devita's dedication to the camp. "You had to wonder when he got any sleep."
State and local police descended on Camp Good News this morning. A Sandwich town ambulance came and went from the camp and a hearse arrived at about 11:40 a.m., leaving about 15 minutes later.
A flatbed truck left the camp early this afternoon with a red pickup truck on it.
Contact: gbrennan@capecodonline.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.