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	Dead Camp Counselor's Mom Feared He Was Molester Boston Channel April 7, 2011 http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/27462531/detail.html The mother of camp employee accused of molesting a boy at the Cape Cod summer camp had a startling response to his suicide Wednesday, even as more people are coming forward to say they were abused at the same camp. The attorney for one, Mitchell Garabedian, said he has heard from five new potential victims in the past two days, bringing his total to six. He said they include five males and a female. Four of them have made allegations against camp worker Charles “Chuck” Devita, who was found dead Wednesday, and the other two have made allegations against other unnamed people at the camp, Garabedian said. Counselor's Mother Speaks Out Sandra Devita, who now lives in Florida, told NewsCenter 5 that she feared her son might be a molester and she told Faith Willard, a former camp director, about her concerns, but officials there took no action. Now, she said, his suicide seems to have confirmed her worst fears. "Someone doesn't do that if (the abuse) didn't happen," she said. The camp released a statement saying Sandra Devita never told Willard that she suspected abuse. "Faith Willard, a 78-year-old with an MA in counseling from Columbia University, had only one phone conversation with Sandy Devita and has never met her in person, to the best of her knowledge. That one conversation was initiated by Mrs. Devita for the purpose of asking Ms. Willard to have Chuck Devita call his mother. At no time was the issue of abuse raised by Mrs. Devita to Ms. Willard," the camp said in a statement. Devita, 43, of Forestdale, was found dead of a single gunshot wound inside his truck at Camp Good News, police said. Devita was a groundskeeper at the camp, which also made headlines when Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown revealed he was abused as a child. Devita's mother said if her son was molesting children, she doesn't feel the remorse a mother might normally feel over his death. "I was very upset that he took his life, but I'll be honest with you, now that I know why he took his life, it put it in a different light for me. And, please forgive me for this, I'm sorry he took his life but if he did what he did and he ... and he might've done it with other kids also, I don't feel as bad as I should, I guess," Devita said. "There's no place, in my scope of belief, there is no place for somebody who does that to a child. I'm sorry. It's an unforgivable act, as far as I'm concerned," she added. Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said Devita was the subject of an abuse allegation. A law enforcement source told the Boston Herald that Devita left a note saying he was “tired of being accused” of molesting children. Earlier this week, a former camper came forward after Brown's abuse revelations surfaced and said he was abused while attending the camp in 1985. The Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office this week launched an investigation into accusations by that camper, now a 36-year-old man, who said he was repeatedly assaulted at the camp in 1985 when he was a 10-year-old camper. He said the employee still worked at the camp. "The person my client accused of sexually molesting him is Chuck Devita," said attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents the man. The camp issued a statement saying, "The Camp Good News family is deeply saddened by the loss of our long time employee. Our heartfelt prayers are with Chuck's family," and a current camp worker vouched for his character. Sandra Devita said she had expressed her worries about her son to the camp. "They blew it off," Devita said. "It was like with the priests. They just covered it up and they handled it the same way they did when all those priests were abusing the kids. That's all. It's the same. It was handled the same way." "Instead of coming in to the modern world, they're still hoping God will change these people and it won't happen," she said. Camp employees, however, remembered Devita as a good person. "Chuck is by far one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. He has a heart of gold and would give anyone the shirt off his back," camp co-worker Kathy Ciccotelli said. Sandra Devita said she isn't surprised his co-workers thought well of her son. "I raised him to be like that. That would be the kid that I raised. But then there was a dark side of him that was the part of him that did this stuff. And, I'm not surprised that they would say that about him because ... people that molest children are nice guys. That's the way it usually works out," she said. Devita broke into tears saying she tried to raise her son to be a good person who cared about people and when she hears that some of his colleagues thought well of him, "I say, well, at least some of the stuff I taught him came through." Devita said her son had a girlfriend in college but as he got older he had no social life or friends and only worked with children. She thought it was "very strange." She said it wasn't a surprise that he ended his life the way he did because he had severed ties with his family and had no one to turn to. "He knew that he couldn't go home. He knew that he had no family to go home to," she said. "He knew that his father wouldn't put up with that either and he couldn't talk to me about it." Garabedian said Devita would have been in his late teens at the time and has held many posts at the camp over the years. "The criminal case will end against Chuck Devita. You cannot prosecute a person who has died. I will bring a civil suit, if possible, against the estate of Chuck Devita and the supervisors at the camp," Garabedian said. Garabedian said his client was saddened by the circumstances "Victims have many reactions to death of their alleged perpetrators. A lot of them feel sad that a person died. Others feel cheated they didn't get to confront their alleged perpetrators," Garabedian said. Brown said he has nothing to do with this case. He hasn't been contacted by investigators, and he said he doesn't know the alleged victim that came forward Tuesday. The senator said he doesn't even know if the man who abused him 42 years ago is still alive, and if he is, the senator has made it clear he has no interest in pursuing any charges.
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