By George Brennan
Cape Cod Times
December 5, 2011
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111205/NEWS11/111209862
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| Camp Good News in Forestdale |
SANDWICH – The Forestdale summer camp that was at the center of an alleged sex abuse scandal has filed an application to be licensed by the town this summer.
The application and two checks totaling $175 from Camp Good News were received by the town today, but much of the required paperwork – such as policies and procedures for background checks on camp staff – were not included, according to the 13-page application.
Camp Good News closed for the first time in more than 75 years last summer amid allegations that at least 16 former campers have been sexually assaulted at the religious camp dating since the late 1960s.
The camp came under intense scrutiny after U.S. Sen. Scott Brown announced in his autobiography that he had been abused as a camper in 1969 at a religious camp on Cape Cod. Though Brown never named the camp, Camp Good News officials confirmed to the Times he attended the Sandwich camp.
Brown's revelation inspired other alleged victims to come forward, which helped trigger the ongoing criminal investigation of the camp. In April, as that investigation intensified, one of the camp's long-time employees, Charles “Chuck” Devita, 43, committed suicide on the Camp Good News property after learning he was a suspect in an alleged attack on a 10-year-old boy 26 years earlier.
In the days that followed, the American Camp Association stripped Camp Good News of its accreditation and camp leaders decided to shut down.
Last month, camp officials announced on Camp Good News website they planned to “unlock the gates” and reopen for the summer of 2012. That announcement came the same week that a second person filed suit against the camp alleging he had been abused by a counselor named Ernest “Ernie” Milnes in 1969.
When Milnes died in 2009, he was a registered sex offender in Maryland. The camp's response to that lawsuit is due later this week in Barnstable Superior Court.
David Mason, the Sandwich health director, said today he had not reviewed the camp's application, but said he would carefully scrutinize it before issuing a license. He said he might even require a hearing before the town's Board of Health.
Despite the allegations, the town's authority to withhold a license is limited and typically Camp Good News has provided the proper paperwork each year to comply with state regulations on background checks, Mason said.
“We look at the process and whether they went through that process of conducting (criminal background) checks,” Mason said. The town doesn't investigate the actual background checks, but just verifies that they've been done, he said.
Regardless, a decision on a license won't be made until closer to the summer, Mason said, because an inspection of the property – usually conducted in May or June, is required.
The town application is signed by Hope Brooks, who lists herself as the camp's deputy director. It also lists Jane Brooks as the camp director, but doesn't provide her age, coursework in camp administration or her previous camp experience – all requirements of the application.
Neither Hope Brooks nor Jane Brooks returned calls or emails Monday. Jon Fitch, a Sandwich attorney who has acted as a camp spokesman recently, could not be reached for comment.
The camp's application with the town used the initials “TBA” for the Camp Good News health supervisor and aquatics director. It also failed to list the names, ages or certifications of any camp staff members as required.
Some camps make the same kind of initial application, Mason said, and then supply the required information closer to opening for the season.
“If they wanted the license as of Jan. 1, I would have to say it's inadequate,” Mason said.
Meanwhile, the Society for Christian Activities Inc. is listed as the camp's owner. The religious nonprofit has not filed paperwork with the state since its initial incorporation in 1935, according to state records.
That's something that attorney Carmen Durso, who represents two clients who have sued the camp, said he finds surprising. He asked how Brooks could sign for the nonprofit when she's not listed as an officer on state records filed 76 years ago.
A spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin said the society is not required to file annual reports because it was founded by W. Wyeth Willard as a religious organization.
Durso criticized camp officials for seeking to reopen amid the swirl of allegations. “I can't believe any parent in their right mind would want to send their children to this camp,” he said.
gbrennan@capecodonline.com
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