MAINE
MPBN
08/02/2012 Reported By: Jay Field
A former religious and civic leader in Bangor sexually abused several multiple children over the last forty years, according to people interviewed in an investigation by the Maine State Police.
The Reverend Robert Carlson jumped to his death from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge last November, shortly after learning that he was the target of a probe. A final police report on the now-closed case, obtained by MPBN, suggests people were concerned about Carlson’s behavior as far back as the 1970s. It also raises questions, and provides few answers, about why people didn’t do more to investigate their suspicions or report them to law enforcement.
Last month’s scathing report on Penn State’s handling of allegations against Jerry Sandusky highlights what appears to a pattern of looking the other way that’s all too common in sexual abuse cases.
Nothing in the Maine state police report suggests anyone who was suspicious of Carlson did anything wrong.
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