Man Guilty of Sex Abuse at Church Camp

By Nancy Drury Duncan
Delmarva Now
June 4, 2013

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20130605/NEWS/306050068/Man-guilty-sex-abuse-church-camp

ACCOMAC — A 60-year-old man who came to Accomack County with a group of youth volunteers from a Norfolk church to clear brush, improve trails and do other work at a church-owned camp facility pleaded guilty in Circuit Court to sexual abuse.

The case against Hampton Roads, Va., resident Michael Douthat, originally scheduled to be a bench trial, was settled with a plea agreement.

Testimony showed Douthat became intoxicated at the Occohannock on the Bay Camp and Retreat Center near Craddockville, which is owned and operated by the Eastern Shore District of the United Methodist Church, before touching a 14-year-old girl.

Douthat was not well-known to the others in the volunteer group, said Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Brenner. He stressed that the group was not connected with Camp Occahannock on the Bay but came as volunteers.

When Douthat was being introduced to some of the young people who came on the trip, he shook hands with the boys and hugged the girl.

At a bonfire after dinner, all the other adult chaperones sat together on one side of the fire pit, Brenner said, adding that Douthat sat with the girl.

During the course of the evening, he repeatedly touched her, put his hands on her leg and rubbed her back, making her feel uncomfortable, Brenner told the court.

In a written statement, the girl said Douthat kept leaving and then returning to the campfire, and that she and others smelled alcohol on his breath. Close to 11 p.m., the group was given permission from the camp director to go on a night hike.

The defendant followed them, Brenner said. He soon told the kids to turn off their flashlights and continue walking in the dark, telling them he was experienced at hiking like that.

In a written statement, the girl said whenever she stumbled, Douthat would pull her up by her belt and run his hands around her body. He started rubbing her stomach and chest and then touched her breasts, she told police.

A boy walking with the girl confirmed her account.

Defense attorney Lynwood Lewis said his client has a serious alcohol problem. He and Brenner negotiated a plea agreement that stated the defendant would plead guilty to sexual abuse, which is a misdemeanor, and would receive a six-month jail sentence, with all time suspended.

This was agreeable to the girl’s family, Brenner said.

He said the family wanted the conviction to be a matter of public record so he would not be allowed to work with youths again.