BishopAccountability.org
	13 Now Claim Abuse at Cape Camp By Laura Crimaldi Boston Herald April 13, 2011 http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_041313_now_claim_abuse_at_cape_camp/ A former camper who attended Camp Good News within five years of when U.S. Sen. Scott Brown summered there in the 1970s is one of 13 people now claiming to have been sexually abused by a staff member, a civil attorney said yesterday. The accusers, 11 men and two women, said they were abused at the camp during the 1970s and 1980s, said attorney Mitchell Garabedian. One alleged assault took place as recently as the 1990s, he said. So far, Garabedian has heard complaints about fewer than five alleged male molesters at the camp. He declined to be more specific. Brown revealed in his memoir that he was molested in the 1970s at a camp later identified by others as Camp Good News. He has not named his abuser. "Would it help if he named the molester? Sure," said Garabedian. "But if he's not ready to do that and it's going to cause him emotional harm to do that then he shouldn't until he's ready. You just can't do it." The camp, which closed for the summer after losing accreditation, issued a one-sentence statement: "Camp officials will tell their side of the story in an appropriate forum, rather than addressing these types of allegations in the media." Two men and one woman claim they were molested by Charles "Chuck" Devita, Garabedian said. Devita committed suicide last Wednesday after a sex abuse complaint involving a 10-year-old boy who attended the camp in 1985 was presented to Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, authorities have said. O'Keefe declined comment yesterday. Three former camp staffers have also come forward, including one who said she confronted officials about Devita, Garabedian said. The woman did not witness Devita do anything inappropriate, but was concerned about the amount of time he spent with young children.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.