Pb Diocese Responds to "Budd Bucks" Scandal: Rosarian Academy Is Not under Its Jurisdiction

WBZT
April 5, 2013

http://www.wbzt.com/articles/1290-wjno---local-news-120981/pb-diocese-responds-to-budd-bucks-11154686/


It's unthinkable, but authorities say it's exactly what happened. 51 year old Stephen Budd, currently an ESE specialist at South Tech Academy in Boynton Beach was arrested this week, charged with having sexual contact with little girls.

So far, two girls have come forward with allegations that their teacher at the Rosarian Academy several years ago offered them what he called "Budd Bucks", which was basically candy, in exchange for performing sex acts.

The two alleged victims are now 14 and 15 years old and the crimes Budd's accused of happened in 2006 and 2007. The man left the West Palm Beach catholic school in 2007 and went to work for the South Tech Academy, a charter school, which has placed him on administrative leave pending the outcome of this case.

One of the girls says she went to police after Budd tried to contact her via social media.

Cops are convinced that there are more victims, and want girls to feel comfortable coming forward.

Meanwhile, the Rosarian Academy is working with police.

We also received the following statement from the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach:

“The Diocese of Palm Beach is greatly concerned and takes very seriously the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse made by two students against Stephen Budd.

Stephen Budd was a volunteer at St. Luke Catholic Church in Palm Springs in the late 1990s and was employed from 1996 to 2002 as a teacher at the diocese’s school, St. Francis of Assisi in Riviera Beach. That school closed in 2005. Mr. Budd left St. Francis when he gained employment at Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach in 2002. Rosarian Academy is a private school that is not sponsored by the Diocese of Palm Beach or under the jurisdiction of its Office of Catholic Schools.

At the request of Rosarian Academy, the diocese has sent a Crisis Management Response Team consisting of counselors and psychologists to provide any needed assistance to the students, parents, and staff at Rosarian Academy.

The Diocese of Palm Beach will fully cooperate with legal authorities in their investigation of this matter and will notify the parish communities of St. Luke and St. Francis of Assisi of these reported allegations.

The diocese encourages any victims of abuse to contact the local police department. In addition, the diocese offers counseling to victims of abuse at any diocesan school or parish and asks any victims to contact the following telephone number 561-801-0999.

Our prayers are with the students and the families involved.”