By Brian Macquarrie and John Ellement
Boston Globe
November 15, 2011
http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/11/15/cape-camp-sexual-abuse-scandal-reopen/ZuAJ4MXJEFKzNem17N5IqN/story.html
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| Camp Good News did not open last summer after Senator Scott Brown said he was abused at a Christian camp on the Cape. |
The announcement yesterday that a Christian summer camp embroiled in a sexual-abuse scandal will reopen on Cape Cod has prompted anger and surprise from alleged victims.
"My clients are outraged and offended that Camp Good News would even think of reopening, whether it be this summer or following summers," said Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer who represents 14 people who say they were sexually abused there. "My clients believe there is no useful purpose in Camp Good News reopening."
The camp did not open this past summer following disclosure by Senator Scott Brown and others that they were sexually abused by staff members there. A longtime camp counselor committed suicide there in April after investigations were launched into the allegations.
In April, the American Camp Association revoked accreditation of the camp, which is located in Sandwich. An association official said yesterday that accreditation has not been restored despite a statement on the camp's website that Good News "is a state-of-the-art summer camp program that is accredited by the American Camp Association."
"I do not anticipate them being accredited this summer," said Bette Bussel, the executive director of the New England office of the American Camp Association.
On the camp's website, www.campgoodnews.org, a headline proclaimed that "the time has come to unlock the gates at Camp Good News."
In its announcement, the camp did not mention the sexual-abuse allegations, but said it planned to once again offer summer programs for boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 15.
"For the first time in 76 years, Camp Good News chose to take a year off to examine its policies and enlist a number of new agencies to improve and maintain the program," the statement said. "Many camp friends and alumni have come forward to help in this endeavor."
Efforts to contact camp officials and their lawyer were not successful.
The statement did not identify which new steps will be taken to protect campers, but did report that "some of the improvements include a team of year-around staff and volunteers, E-Blast and E-newsletter communication, and a continued focus on staff training and camper activities."
In his autobiography, Brown wrote that he had been sexually abused by a male counselor at a Christian camp on Cape Cod, but he has not identified the camp by name. However, Camp Good News issued a written apology to Brown.
The revelation of the assaults on Brown led more than a dozen people to allege that they were victims of sexual assault by staff members at the camp. Many also said they reported the assaults to members of the Willard family, who opened the camp in 1935 and have owned it since. Several former campers have filed civil lawsuits against the camp and Willard family members.
A longtime camp employee, Charles "Chuck" Devita, committed suicide in April as investigations were launched in response to the wave of allegations. Devita had been accused of sexually abusing four campers over 15 years, starting in 1985 when he was 17 years old.
If the camp seeks accreditation, Bussel said, the association could choose not to accept an application.
"We, in this case, would have to make a decision with our national office as to whether we would have them go through the process now or not," Bussel said.
The camp's website said that its staff has been retrained "to insure the safety of the campers and refocus the camping experience on the core values set forth by our founders: to build Christian character and enjoy the beauty of God's creation."
Garabedian dismissed the statement. "At this point, those are only words," he said. "How are they retraining staff and who has retrained the staff? To think that the same administration would now all of a sudden have an interest in protecting children is not reasonable."
Carmen Durso, a lawyer who represents two other alleged victims and has filed a civil suit in the case, echoed that skepticism.
"I don't think they know what to do to train their staff," Durso said. ". . . Even if they do, do they just close the door on what's happened in the past?"
Ron May, who told police he was abused at the camp in the early- to mid-1970s, expressed surprise at the announcement.
"I would think that with the suicide, and with the abuse questions up in the air, they would want to resolve those questions before reopening," said May, who lives in Colorado.
"You can't stop them from opening, but I would hope that responsible parents would know all the facts about the camp before sending their kids there."
The office of the Barnstable district attorney is continuing an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse at Camp Good News, said Brian Glenny, first assistant district attorney. Glenny said the investigation might be completed in the near future, but that "you've got to go where the investigation leads."
Contact: macquarrie@globe.com
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