By John Basile
Sandwich Broadsider
August 18, 2011
http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/features/x1837748497/More-allegations-against-Cape-Cod-summer-camp-Former-camper-says-employee-sexually-assaulted-her#axzz1VQArVT3l
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| More allegations have surfaced about Camp Good News. |
A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against Camp Good News in Forestdale and its operators claiming she was sexually assaulted when she was a camper there from 1973 to 1975.
The woman, now 45, has filed suit in Barnstable Superior Court alleging that Faith Willard and Hope Willard Brooks, operators of Camp Good News, knew, or should have known, that two of their employees, a male janitor and a female counselor acted improperly.
The complaint alleges that the janitor sexually assaulted the plaintiff, who was seven when the first assault occurred, and that the counselor “observed” the assailant and the girl together in a girls’ bathroom but, “failed to intervene, or to take any other steps” to protect the girl.
The suit also alleges that the defendants knew, or should have known, that their employee, “was not a fit person to be placed by them in a position where he had access to young girls, particularly in a boarding camp environment.”
In a phone interview Thursday afternoon from the office of her attorney, Carmen Durso of Boston, the woman, who grew up in Hingham, said that she has been a victim of drug and alcohol abuse since her teens. In 2009 her father died and, according to the woman, left money to Camp Good News. When she called the camp to talk about the bequest, Camp Good News officials asked her about her time there. The woman said she told camp staff in 2009 that she was sexually abused while there in the ‘70s, but had no desire to sue. She said that only later did she realize that Camp Good News staff must have known about abuse going on there and decided to come forward.
She said she kept silent, “until a man died,” referring to the death in April of former Camp Good News employee Charles Devita, who was found dead at the summer camp, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Devita had also worked at the Sandwich Community School and the Riverview School in Sandwich.
The woman said the camp janitor who assaulted her threatened to kill her mother if she revealed what happened. She said another girl at the camp told her the man said the same thing to her.
The woman emphasized that it was not Devita who abused her.
“Devita was younger than I am,” the woman said.
“I’m sure they [Camp Good News management] know who it was,” the woman said. She also said she has reason to believe the man who abused her died in 2007.
The woman said she is now pursuing a master’s degree in counseling at Daytona State College in Florida and wants to see that others who were abused are empowered to come forward.
Camp Good News did not operate this summer after allegations began to surface last winter and spring that sexual assaults had occurred there. The camp lost its accreditation by the American Camp Association prior to the decision not to open for the season.
The first reference was in a memoir published by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in February, in which he said he was sexually assaulted by an unnamed camp worker.
That revelation touched off a flood of allegations. In April, Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian said he had been contacted by 11 people who alleged they were sexually abused at Camp Good News.
The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office said in April it was investigating complaints about Camp Good News. At that time, the camp issued a statement saying it was cooperating with the investigation and would comment at the appropriate time.
The Camp Good News website carries the following statement:
“We want to express our deep remorse for any hurtful experience that may have occurred. Camp Good News remains fully committed to offering a positive experience to young people. Every aspect of Camp operations will be reviewed before the Camp reopens. Thank you to all of you who have contacted us to offer your support, your encouragement, and your prayers during this difficult time.”
The lawsuit is filed against Faith Willard, Hope Willard Brooks, The Society for Christian Activities doing business as Camp Good News, and the unnamed janitor and counselor and does not specify a set amount of damages, but seeks a judgment, “in an amount that is fair, just and adequate for the injuries and damages sustained, and the pain and suffering endured.”
Durso, whose practice centers on representing “victims of sexual abuse and other crimes,” said Camp Good News, which has been operated by the same family since the 1930s, has shown a long history ignoring abuse by its employees. He said Brown was a camper there around 1969 or ’70 and his client was abused over three summers beginning in 1973.
“They had to understand what people were doing and just didn’t pay attention,” Durso said.
Read more: More allegations against Cape Cod summer camp: Former camper says employee sexually assaulted her - - Wicked Local - Cape Cod http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/archive/x1837748497/More-allegations-against-Cape-Cod-summer-camp-Former-camper-says-employee-sexually-assaulted-her#ixzz1VTCIthOL
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