New report alleges decades of sexual abuse at elite Connecticut prep school

UPDATE:

Ex-Choate Teacher Spent Years Working In Connecticut Schools After Sex-Abuse Accusations David Altimari
Hartford Courant
April 14, 2017

One of the 12 former Choate Rosemary Hall teachers accused this week of sexually abusing students has spent most of the 18 years since the allegation surfaced as a teacher and administrator at Connecticut public schools that were not made aware of his past, including as a Litchfield high school principal until last week.
Jaime Rivera-Murillo was one of 12 former teachers at the prestigious Wallingford boarding school accused of inappropriate relations with students in a blistering 48-page report released Thursday by Choate officials.
Rivera-Murillo, who resigned as principal at Wamogo Regional High on April 6, was accused by a 17-year-old girl of forcing her to have anal sex in a swimming pool during a 1999 school trip to Costa Rica, the report said.
Rivera-Murillo, who denied the allegations to school investigators, was fired from Choate in 1999. He subsequently worked as a teacher at Henry Abbott Technical High School in Danbury, Harrison High School in New York and Newtown High School, where he was also assistant principal.

None of the schools was notified of the allegations until Choate informed the superintendent of the Wamogo district last month, just before Rivera-Murillo was placed on leave...

ORIGINAL POST:

It seems that a lot of schools and churches readily cover-up sexual abuse of children. Board members should insist on being informed of all allegations of abuse, and should be held responsible.

Public schools seem to be as bad as, if not worse than, private schools in covering up problems.

New report alleges decades of sexual abuse at elite Connecticut prep school
washingtonpost.com
Peter Holley
April 14, 2017

Choate Rosemary Hall is known for being one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, an institution with alumni like President John F. Kennedy, two-time presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson and playwright Edward Albee.

The elite Connecticut private school is also a place that has for decades fostered a pattern of sexual abuse and misconduct between teachers and students, according to a troubling new internal investigation initiated by the school to address abuse allegations.

...The report names 12 former Choate faculty members who engaged in what it said were substantiated instances of sexual misconduct with Choate students dating back nearly 60 years, five of whom are no longer living. The report recounts the alleged abuse in explicit detail, documenting the experiences described by 24 survivors, some of them as recently as 2010.

The report notes that in some cases the school acted swiftly to address the alleged abuse, but in many cases the school failed to alert police or allowed faculty members to resign, avoiding serious legal consequences.

“The detailed content of this report is devastating to read”...

Internal investigator at San Diego Unified fired for refusing to cleanse a report about sexual assaults in boys bathroom

I have long argued that there is too much secrecy in schools. A new lawsuit (see NBC 7 article below) makes the same case.

The Michael Gurrieri lawsuit (see NBC 7 article below) against Cindy Marten, the superintendent of San Diego Unified School District, claims that Marten knew and approved of the firing of Gurrieri, an internal investigator who looked into a serious sexual molestation problem at an elementary school. The district wanted Gurrieri's report to be cleansed to cover-up the fact that the principal failed to act to protect children. Gurrieri refused to censor his report as the district demanded, and he was fired.

Marten has filed a Motion to Dismiss herself as a defendant in the case, claiming that Gurrieri has no proof that Marten was involved. I think Marten is a pretty good superintendent; it is the system itself that is bad. In my experience, almost all school districts simply do whatever they want to do, and then have their lawyers protect officials from responsibility. The question of Marten's involvement in personnel actions has been raised regarding the removal of another principal. Many believe that a principal was removed from her school in retaliation for failing to make sure that board member Marne Foster's son got a good college recommendation.

The District Deeds blog and Voice of San Diego have written about recently discovered emails showing that Marten was informed of Marne Foster's wishes.

The following is from the District Deeds blog:

"Regardless of the reason why she removed Lizarraga, the latest emails show that Marten was aware of Foster’s overreach at the school.”
-- Reporter Mario Koran – Voice of San Diego 

Koran has proven, through multiple emails and communication between Trustee Marne Foster and former Chief Student Services Officer Joe Fulcher that copied Supt. Cindy Marten, that BOTH FOSTER AND MARTEN VIOLATED SDUSD Board of Education Policy which states:

"The board will not give direction to any employee other than the superintendent and any other employee who may report directly to the board.”

There is INDISPUTABLE PROOF in the emails that Trustee Foster GAVE DIRECTION to Joe Fulcher …AND THAT CINDY MARTEN IMPROPERLY MADE IT HAPPEN!!! 

Here is a story about the Gurrieri case:

San Diego Unified Lawsuit Moves Forward
Rory Devine and R. Stickney
NBC 7
Aug. 13, 2015

See federal complaint here.

After the San Diego Unified School District paid $105,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging sexual assault in a boy's bathroom, a new suit has been filed relating to the case.

 

A former employee who alleged a "cover up" of student-on-student sexual misconduct at SD Unified will soon be heading to settlement talks with the district.

A September 24 date has been set for settlement negotiations in the suit brought by former school district investigator Michael Gurrieri. He was hired by SDUSD in March 2014 as a probationary internal investigator.

Gurrieri claims he uncovered a problem of student-on-student sexual assaults within the district as he was looking into an allegation at Green Elementary School in San Carlos.

In May 2013, parents of a kindergartener said their son was sexually assaulted by another kindergarten student in the boy's bathroom at Green Elementary. The parents were awarded $105,000 to settle a lawsuit in the case, and the district did not admit guilt.

When Gurrieri filed his report, he claims he was told to remove allegations of incidents of abuse in the school that the principal was aware of and didn't do anything about, according to his attorney.

Gurrieri was terminated from his job because he objected to the district's “cover- up,” his attorney claims.

The lawsuit originally named Superintendent Cindy Marten, Executive Director of the Quality Assurance Office Carmina Duran and the district's General Counsel Andra Donovan as defendants because the district cannot be sued in federal court under the claims of First Amendment violations.

A judge is considering a motion to remove Marten and Donovan that claims Gurrieri failed to prove he had a conversation with either Marten or Donovan regarding his report.

However, Gurrieri's attorneys say the judge has yet to make a final decision on whether Marten and Donovan will be defendants.

Duran did instruct Gurrieri to focus his report on one student's allegations, court documents show.

The district ended Gurrieri's employment in October 2014, court documents show. The district has said it will not comment on pending litigation.

Montana teacher's 1-month rape sentence overturned

Teacher Stacey Dean Rambold

Montana teacher's 1-month rape sentence overturned
Associated Press
By MATTHEW BROWN
Yahoo
April 30, 2014

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court has overturned a one-month sentence that was widely condemned as too lenient for a former high school teacher convicted of raping a 14-year-old student.

The court ordered a new judge to re-sentence defendant Stacey Dean Rambold, who has been free since completing the previous term last fall.

Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito says that according to state sentencing laws, the decision means Rambold must serve a minimum of two years in prison.

The high court's decision cited in part the actions of District Judge G. Todd Baugh, of Billings, who suggested the young victim shared responsibility for her rape because she had some control over the situation.

The office of Rambold's attorney, Jay Lansing, says he is traveling and not immediately available for comment.

See also: Judge Todd Baugh can't change his 30-day sentence for rapist teacher; only the Appeals Court has jurisdiction now

See previous post on this case: Teacher who had sex with 14-year-old who later killed herself gets 31 days in jail while taxpayers pay $91,000

MY PLAN: PEDOPHILES KEPT SEPARATE FROM CHILDREN (without violating anyone's rights or using your taxpayer dollars)

California State Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez (top left) watches as Maria Keever (left) and Milena Sellers Phillips (right) speak out against the proposed plan to release Douglas Badger from a state hospital. Badger, a repeat sex offender, has been accused of assaulting several young men and one 16-year-old girl. Christian Rodas for SDUT

I have an idea about where pedophiles should live. It would work for Douglas Badger (whose release is a hot issue here in San Diego), and it would work for those who have not offended, but who are sexually attracted to children.

It wouldn't just apply to child molesters who have served their prison terms. It would also prevent sexual assaults in the future by pedophiles who have not offended yet.

And it would be entirely voluntary on the part of the pedophiles. They'd rather live in my proposed development than in a trailer outside Donovan State Prison on Otay Mesa, the only viable location that has been proposed so far for Douglas Badger. And even sociopaths might be smart enough to choose a life for themselves that wouldn't involve prison--at least not for sexual assaults on children.

I call upon real estate developers, particularly those who have benefited from the generosity of San Diego taxpayers--like Corky McMillan's company, for starters--to design a development where pedophiles would live. (Perhaps those with other illegal urges would also want to move in.)

No children would be allowed into this development, and no residents would be allowed to leave except in extreme circumstances, and they would be supervised by a guard while on the outside. Anyone who leaves without a guard would not be allowed back. This would not be a place from which predators could leave to commit crimes and then come back and hide. If they leave, my guess is that they'll probably end up in prison.

How would the problem of child pornography be handled? Perhaps residents would have to agree to have their computers regularly searched, and mail would be examined. This town would allow much greater freedom and opportunity than prison, or a trailer outside the gates of a prison, but residents would have to agree to give up some of their rights in order to make sure the community could not become a haven for criminals.

I am thinking of starting a petition to this effect.

The residents could own and run their own grocery stores, restaurants, and all manner of businesses, generating taxes to pay for guards and administrators of the development. The residents wouldn't be paying any taxes if we waited for them to offend and then put them in prison.

Maura Larkins


Housing For Sexual Predator Douglas Badger To Be Determined By Judge
By Dwane Brown
KPBS
November 12, 2013

GUESTS
Lorena Gonzalez, San Diego Assemblywoman
John Rice, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County

County and state officials, along with concerned parents, voiced opposition Tuesday to the release of convicted sexual predator Douglas Badger. A court hearing to locate housing for 70-year-old Badger will be held Friday.

Douglas Badger, who has been diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder and sexual sadism, has a history of sexual assaults dating back to 1974.

Badger, who has been diagnosed with a schizophrenic disorder and sexual sadism, has a history of sexual assaults dating back to 1974. His victims were primarily 18- to 29-year-old male hitchhikers, although in one case he assaulted a 16-year-old girl.

He was convicted in 1981 and served 10 years in prison. Shortly after his release in 1991, he re-offended and was again convicted of sexual assault.

In 1997, Badger was committed to a state hospital as a sexually violent predator. In August, a judge ruled that Badger could be safely released into the community with continued treatment and supervision.

Milena Phillips' is the creator of the Jonathan Sellers and Charlie Keever Foundation. Sellers, Phillips' son, and his friend, Keever, were killed by a sexual predator in 1993. Phillips strongly opposes releasing Badger back into the community.

"A repeat offender, a repeat sexual sadist — to let him in an area where he could be in walking distance of children is just unthinkable," Phillips said.

San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox and state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez also made remarks voicing their opposition.

The Department of State Hospitals originally proposed placing Badger in Campo, in the East County, but that was withdrawn by the owner. Officials will update a judge Friday on efforts to find suitable housing for Badger.

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents East County, said in September that she wanted Badger released to a trailer near Donovan State Prison in the southern part of San Diego.

Friday's hearing will be open for public comment.

City News Service contributed to this report.


South County officials oppose sex predator's release
By Dana Littlefield
SDUT
Nov. 12, 2013

SAN DIEGO — In a pre-emptive move, two South County officials spoke out Tuesday against the pending release of a sexually violent predator, saying they do not want him placed in any of the communities they represent.

It remains unclear where Douglas Badger, a 70-year-old repeat sex offender, might be allowed to live after his release from a state mental hospital now that a proposal to place him in rural East County has been rescinded.

But state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and county Supervisor Greg Cox aren’t waiting to find out. They said at a news conference that Badger should not be released at all, given his history of attacking young men and a 16-year-old girl.

Only a handful of sexually violent predators have been released in San Diego County since legal changes went into effect that allowed those considered the worst offenders to be committed civilly to state hospitals after they served their time in prison. One offender remains under supervision in the community.

Gonzalez and Cox said that other sexually violent predators — including Badger — had been allowed to live in South County, specifically in a trailer outside Donovan state prison in Otay Mesa. Badger lived in the trailer from June 2006 to October 2007.

Authorities at the time said he was sent back to the hospital for medical reasons.

“It’s not OK to dump people into these communities,” Gonzalez told reporters Tuesday outside the Hall of Justice in downtown San Diego.

Cox said Badger should remain at state-controlled facility, because he has shown previously that he cannot be trusted.

“If he had reoffended once before, what guarantees do we have that he won’t reoffend again?” the supervisor asked in a letter to San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill.

A hearing has been scheduled for Friday in Gill’s courtroom, when state officials are expected to discuss ongoing efforts to find appropriate housing for Badger in San Diego County.

Badger was one of the first people classified as a sexually violent predator to be released in San Diego County after state legislators enacted laws in 1996 that extended custody for the worst offenders.

Originally, offenders who fit the criteria were sent to Atascadero State Hospital in San Luis Obispo County, where they had the option of participating in a specialized sex offender treatment program with the goal of someday being deemed safe for release.

The program was moved later to Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County.

At first the law required the offenders to be committed to the hospital for terms of two years, but Jessica’s Law — passed by voters in 2006 — changed existing statutes to allow predators to be committed to the hospital indefinitely.

After one year, however, they have the right to petition for a new hearing to determine whether they still fit the predator criteria.

On Aug. 21, Gill ruled that Badger could be released into the community safely with continued outpatient treatment and supervision, such as GPS monitoring.

Authorities from the state Department of Hospitals announced a month later that Badger could be allowed to live in a semi-permanent mobile home placed on nearly three-acres on Hartfell Road in Campo.

Occidental College reaches an agreement with women who say that officials bungled campus investigations

Petition at Occidental College, 2013

We'd have better leaders if schools were interested in teaching more than how to make money. It seems that the officials at Occidental (and other colleges) don't understand what a real education is. Perhaps a year's suspension would help. And perhaps the transgressors would be required to complete other tasks, such as writing papers or participating in truth and reconciliation meetings and reparations, before they would be allowed to return.

Occidental College settles in sexual assault cases
Occidental College reaches an agreement with women who say that officials bungled campus investigations.
By Jason Felch and Jason Song
LA Times
September 18, 2013

Occidental College has quietly reached a monetary settlement with at least 10 current and former students who have alleged that the Eagle Rock liberal arts school repeatedly mishandled sexual assault accusations, according to three sources with knowledge of the agreement.

During confidential settlement talks last week, senior Occidental officials agreed to pay the women an undisclosed sum to avoid a lawsuit.

Under the terms of the pact, they are barred from discussing publicly the college's handling of their cases and participating in the Occidental Sexual Assault Coalition, a campus advocacy group of students and faculty that over the last year has been battling fiercely with the college administration over its handling of sex assault allegations.

The women, all represented by the firm of high-profile women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, were among 37 Occidental students and alumni who in April alleged in a federal civil rights complaint that the school deliberately discouraged victims from reporting sexual assaults, misled students about their rights during campus investigations, retaliated against whistle-blowers, and handed down minor punishment to known assailants who in some cases allegedly struck again. The settlement won't affect the federal action.

The federal complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, has since been revised to include allegations from an additional 13 people, including some supportive faculty members. A parallel complaint was filed the same month under the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities to report campus crime.

Federal investigators are expected to visit the college in coming weeks to investigate both complaints, records show.

In a prepared statement on the Allred settlement, Occidental spokesman Jim Tranquada said:

"We cannot comment except to say that this matter has been resolved. It is a confidential matter and we intend to honor the confidentiality and privacy of those involved. The college continues to move ahead with its efforts to address this important issue and make Occidental a national leader in dealing with sexual misconduct."

After the federal complaints were filed, the college adopted an interim sexual misconduct policy and recently hired an advocate for abuse victims, Tranquada said. The college has created a 24/7 telephone hotline and expanded the preventative education programs for all students...

The Times has reviewed the federal complaints detailing the allegations of 10 of the women who settled their claims last week. They allege a pattern in which the college downplayed the incidents or tried to dissuade women from stepping forward.

Most of the men involved in the settled cases were ultimately found responsible for misconduct.

Not all of the incidents were reported to law enforcement, a decision left up to those who said they were victims.

According to the federal complaint, a female student who reported to administrators that she had been assaulted at a fraternity in February, said she was told by a school dean not to talk about the incident to prevent lawsuits against the college.

In addition, the complaint said, officials deliberately drew out the disciplinary proceedings. The case "fits a troubling pattern of school administrators running out the clock so alleged perpetrators who are found responsible can still complete their semester," the complaint alleges.

Throughout the complaint are allegations that men found responsible for sexual assaults at Occidental were given only minor sanctions.

In one case, a student admitted to administrators that he had sexually assaulted a woman in 2011 and went on to warn officials that other victims might come forward. The student was allowed to stay on campus while being barred from some campus activities and required to write an apology letter and a 15- to 20-page essay.

The final paper was "less than two and a half pages," according to the complaint. "The incredibly casually written paper was ridden with grammatical errors, incomplete sentences, and no works [footnotes] cited. It is an exemplary example of what a paper looks like that has been given zero effort, care or thought," the complaint alleges...

Judge Todd Baugh can't change his 30-day sentence for rapist teacher; only the Appeals Court has jurisdiction now

See previous post on this story.

Montana court blocks judge on new sentence for teen rape by teacher
Michael Winter
USA TODAY
September 6, 2013


Judge Todd Baugh (Photo: Larry Mayer, Billings (Mont.) Gazette)

Montana's Supreme Court on Friday ordered a county judge to cancel a hearing to reconsider the 30-day prison sentence he gave a former high school teacher convicted of raping a 14-year-old student with whom he had a sexual relationship for several months.

In granting the emergency order sought by the state attorney general, four justices ruled that Yellowstone County District Court Judge G. Todd Baugh lacked the authority to reconsider his original Aug. 26 sentence for Stacey Rambold, a business-and-technology teacher in Billings.

Baugh said shortly after the appellate action that he had already decided Thursday to cancel the Friday hearing. But he added that he had imposed, in writing, a new, 15-year prison sentence against Rambold, with all but two years suspended. He declared it the mandatory minimum required under state law, The Billings Gazette reported.

Baugh said the case will proceed through the formal appeal process.

He was vilified for his original 30-day sentence and for saying the victim, Cherice Moralez, was "older than her chronological age" and that she was "as much in control of the situation" as Rambold. He was originally charged in 2008, and she killed herself in 2010 before the case went to trial.

Her mother, Auliea Hanlon, stormed out of court, saying afterward, "I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14."

Baugh apologized for his remarks but defended the sentence. Tuesday, he then announced that the sentence may be "illegal" and scheduled a hearing Friday afternoon...

Rambold's attorney called the original sentence appropriate and agreed that it could be undone only on appeal.

Stacey Rambold stands in the courtroom Monday in Billings, Mont., after sentencing by Judge G. Todd Baugh.(Photo: Paul Ruhter, Billings (Mont.) Gazette)

Rambold began a sexual relationship with Cherice in 2007 and was charged the following year. Because she was the primary witness, her suicide just before the trial complicated the case...

The judge ... compared Rambold's transgressions to parole violations.

But court documents revealed that as early as 2004 Rambold "was warned to stay away from young girls in his class."

Soldier at Fort Hood investigated for sexual assault, Hagel seeks changes to military legal process

Hot on the heels of a similar charge against Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, a solider assigned as a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program coordinator has been suspended while allegations of "pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates" are investigated. See second story below.

Many are wondering what's the point in having investigations if commanders can throw out verdicts.

After sex assault case, Hagel seeks changes to military legal process
By Jim Kavanagh
CNN
April 9, 2013

In response to an Air Force colonel's overturned sexual assault conviction, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is asking Congress to limit military commanders' authority to toss out court-martial verdicts.

"These changes would increase the confidence of service members and the public that the military justice system will do justice in every case," Hagel said in a statement Monday announcing the initiative.

Hagel also wants to require commanders who change court-martial sentences to explain their decisions in writing.

The effort comes in response to the case of Air Force Col. James Wilkerson. The F-16 pilot was freed last year from a Navy brig four months after a court-martial convicted him of sexually assaulting a woman at his home outside Aviano Air Base in Italy.

Acting under the military justice system's Article 60, the Air Force's top commanding officer in Europe, Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, exercised his power as "convening authority" of the court-martial to overturn the conviction.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was among those expressing outrage over the decision.

"As we are trying to send a signal to women ... I question now whether that unit that that man returns to, whether there's any chance a woman who is sexually assaulted in that unit would ever say a word," McCaskill said during a hearing in March.

Lisa Windsor, a former Army Judge Advocate General officer, said any base commander has authority to do what Franklin did, but "I've actually never seen that happen before, that a convening authority would completely overturn the case."

Hagel ordered a review of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and Monday's announcement is the result. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretaries of the various services support the changes, he said.

"Despite the attention and efforts of senior leaders throughout the Department of Defense, it is clear the department still has much more work to do to fully address the problem of sexual assault in the ranks," Hagel said. "This crime is damaging this institution. There are thousands of victims in the department, male and female, whose lives and careers have been upended, and that is unacceptable."

About 19,000 men and women suffer sexual assault each year in the military, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last year in announcing a Pentagon effort to stop the crime. Panetta noted that only about 3,200 of those assaults were reported. About 10,700 cases -- 56% -- involved male victims in 2010, based on anonymous reporting collected by the military.

CNN's Brian Todd, Josh Levs and Ashley Fantz contributed to this report.


Army investigates sergeant for alleged sexual assault
By Dana Ford
CNN
May 15, 2013

(CNN) -- The Army announced Tuesday that a sergeant first class assigned to an assault prevention program at Fort Hood, Texas, is under investigation for sexual assault.

The soldier, who was not named in an Army statement, has been suspended from all duties.

Specifically, the soldier is under investigation for "pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates," the statement said. Special agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command are conducting the probe.

No charges have been filed.

"This is so contrary to everything upon which the Army was built," Secretary of the Army John McHugh said during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee Defense subcommittee, according to the statement. "To see this kind of activity happening in our ranks is really heart-wrenching and sickening."

McHugh spoke generally about sex abuse crimes in the military...

The solider was assigned as a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program coordinator when the allegations surfaced. "There is a distinct possibility," that some sort of prostitution-related activity was involved, an administration official told CNN. But investigators have not yet determined the scope of that possibility or the potential criminal misconduct... According to a Pentagon report released last week, the number of service members anonymously reporting a sexual assault grew by more than 30% in the past two years.

The Defense Department estimated that more than 26,000 troops experienced an episode of "unwanted sexual contact," a huge jump from 19,300 in the 2010 report.

The actual number of sexual crimes reported in fiscal year 2012 was 3,374, a 6% increase over the previous year, the report said.

Military officials worry that many victims don't come forward because they fear retaliation. But the numbers might indicate that more victims are willing to report crimes than in the past.

"I am outraged and disgusted by the reports out of Fort Hood today," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, calling them the "latest chapter in a long, sordid history of sexual abuse" in the military. The California Republican has a granddaughter in the Army. "I see no meaningful distinction between complacency or complicity in the military's latest failure to uphold their own standards of conduct. Nor do I see a distinction between the service member who orchestrated this offense and the chain of command that was either oblivious to or tolerant of criminal behavior," he said... "To say this report is disturbing would be a gross understatement. For the second time in a week, we are seeing someone who is supposed to be preventing sexual assault being investigated for committing that very act," said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York. She plans to unveil legislation this week that would remove chain of command influence from the prosecution of such offenses.

Who's watching the "investigators"? Air Force's sexual assault prevention chief arrested for sexual assault

So, exactly how shocked are we? Not much. How often is the fox in charge of the hen house? More often than not, I suspect. In CVESD, Superintendent Libia Gil appointed Rick Werlin to investigate himself.


Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski / Arlington County Police Dept

Air Force's sexual assault prevention chief arrested for sexual assault
By David Martin
CBS News
May 6, 2013

The mug shot of Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski shows signs of struggle on his face. The police report alleges that a drunken Krusinski "approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breasts and buttocks." The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police.

News of the incident in the Virginia suburbs of Washington broke the day before the Pentagon is scheduled to release new figures showing a continuing rise in sexual assaults in the military: A six-percent increase from 3,192 to 3,374 reports of sexual assault in fiscal year 2012 compared to the previous year.

Estimates of the actual numbers of what is a notoriously underreported crime go much higher. According to the Pentagon figures, an estimated 26,000 servicewomen experienced unwanted sexual contact, up from 19,300 two year ago -- a number the pentagon says is "unacceptable."

Krusinski has been removed from his job, but that will not change the reality that the Pentagon's own figures show sexual assaults are on the rise in the military.

3 New Jersey high school teachers, 2 administrators charged with student sex or cover-up

3 NJ high school teachers, 2 administrators charged with student sex or cover-up
By Associated Press
October 4, 2012

RUNNEMEDE, N.J. — A student at Triton High School went to Principal Catherine DePaul six months ago with a disturbing story: She believed another student was involved in a sexual relationship with a teacher, and she had seen explicit text messages the two exchanged.

At that moment, prosecutors say, a cover-up was put in motion that unraveled Thursday when DePaul, an assistant principal and three teachers were charged with offenses ranging from child endangerment to sexual assault and official misconduct.

The teachers — all men in their late 20s or early 30s — are accused of striking up relationships with female students during the 2011-2012 school year. Each of the five adults has been suspended from the school in the Philadelphia suburb of Runnemede, and each could face at least five years in prison if convicted.

Sexual relationships between teachers and students are not unheard of. Camden County prosecutor Warren Faulk noted that the media seem particularly fixated on the female teacher-male student cases that are reported around the country each year.

But what distinguished the allegations at Triton High was the inaction by administrators who ignored policies and safeguards that were in place and instead allowed a culture “where teachers thought they could get away with improper relationships with their students,” Faulk said.

Waiting outside the school Friday for her grandson, Donna Bresnock concurred.

“When these kids go a principal or vice principal, they’re the ones who they’re relying on,” she said. “Who do they turn to?”

The defendants either could not be reached or did not return messages left by The Associated Press. All five are due in court Thursday.

According to court documents, math teacher Dan Michielli, 27, of Blackwood, had intercourse with a student multiple times during the school year. He is charged with official misconduct, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual conduct.

Gym teacher and boys’ soccer coach Nick Martinelli, 28, of Cherry Hill, is charged with official misconduct involving an 18-year-old. Prosecutors say he touched and kissed the girl when she was a student and had intercourse with her after she graduated in June.

Math teacher and girls’ track coach Jeff Logandro, 32, of Blackwood, is charged with official misconduct, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child. A court filing says he inappropriately touched a female student. A student who was not among the alleged victims, told a substitute teacher in April that teachers were “hooking up” with students, authorities say. The sub then told DePaul.

The principal met with the student, who told her she’d been to one of the teacher’s homes with a girl who was involved with him and had seen the explicit text messages, prosecutors say.

DePaul asked her to write an account of what she had heard, and Assistant Principal Jernee Kollock stayed with the student to help her write the statement, even helping her with her grammar — but also making it seem less serious, authorities allege.

Around the same time, Faulk said, DePaul learned one of the teachers had driven an alleged victim and another student to Ocean City in violation of district policy. But, he said, the teacher was merely reprimanded.

DePaul told her bosses about the teacher driving a student, but prosecutors say she never passed along the claims of sex. Instead, authorities say, she told at least one school employee to delete text-message exchanges with a student from his phone. It’s not clear from court documents who the employee was.

DePaul and Kollock were charged with official misconduct. DePaul later said she wished she had been more concerned for the students than the teachers, Faulk said.

The teachers were suspended last month by the Black Horse Regional School District; the administrators were suspended Thursday. Superintendent John Golden said in a statement that the district was cooperating with authorities, notifying families of students of the allegations and offering counseling.

“In addition, we have initiated a comprehensive review of our existing policies, protocols and training and education materials to prevent this from happening again at this or any district school,” the statement said.

[Maura Larkins comment: Most school districts seem to have a code of silence to protect politically-connected teachers and administrators. The culture has to change, or the policies are meaningless.]

Terry Williams is facing the death penalty for killing a man who raped him for five years

Terry Williams is facing the death penalty
Change.org
Sept. 13, 2012

Terry Williams is facing the death penalty in three weeks for killing the man who repeatedly raped him.

But when Terry was convicted, the jury didn't know the whole story. At the time of his trial, jurors say they had no history or background of the sexual assault and abuse that Terry Williams had suffered for years.

Terry was brutally raped for five years, beginning when he was thirteen, by an older man he trusted -- Amos Norwood. When the jury learned his information after the trial, five jurors came forward to say that they no longer supported his death sentence. Even Norwood's widow has forgiven him, and does not want Terry to be executed.

Sign the petition on Change.org asking Governor Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania to stop Terry's execution scheduled on October 3 -- click here to add your name...

THE PETITION

Governor Tom Corbett, PA Board of Pardons, District Attorney Seth Williams: Grant Clemency to Terrance Williams, Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse
by Sue Osthoff
Philadelphia, PA

Signed with 74,762 supporters
25,238 NEEDED

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is preparing to execute Terrance “Terry” Williams on October 3, 2012, in spite of staunch opposition to his execution from the victim’s widow, five jurors from trial, child advocates, former prosecutors and judges, faith leaders, mental health professionals, law professors and others...

Priest who knew about abuse and kept quiet given 6-year prison term

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke

Sexual predators in Philadelphia Catholic Churches (and schools!) could not have continued if Msgr. William Lynn had gone to the authorities. Lynn's silence allowed many priests to continue their predation, so it is perhaps appropriate that he got a longer sentence than one priest who abused children. (Of course, there are other cases where it is obvious that the less guilty person got a more severe sentence.)

Philadelphia Monsignor Gets Up to Six Years in Prison
Peter Loftus
Wall Street Journal
July 24, 2012

A Roman Catholic monsignor was sentenced Tuesday to as many as six years in prison for allowing a priest suspected of sexual misconduct with a minor to have continued contact with children.

The penalty for Msgr. William Lynn, 61, came a month after a Philadelphia jury found him guilty of child endangerment. The verdict marked the first time a senior U.S. Church official was convicted of a criminal charge related to allegations of covering up sexual abuse of minors by other priests. Msgr. Lynn, served as secretary for clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, a job that included investigating abuse allegations lodged against priests in the diocese.

"You knew full well what was right, Monsignor Lynn, but you chose wrong," Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina told the cleric before handing down a sentence of three to six years in a state prison.

Before the judge sentenced him, Msgr. Lynn apologized to the abuse victim at the center of the case. "I did the best with what I could…but the fact is my best was not good enough to stop the harm, and for that, I am sorry." Msgr. Lynn wasn't charged with abusing any children.

His conviction was based on evidence that in the 1990s he recommended a new assignment for a priest, Edward Avery, to live in a rectory near a church school despite having determined that Mr. Avery committed sexual misconduct with a boy several years earlier. In his new assignment, Mr. Avery sexually assaulted a 10-year-old altar boy in 1999; the now-defrocked Mr. Avery is serving 2½ to five years in prison after pleading guilty in March to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and conspiracy.

Monsignor William Lynn, shown in June, was sentenced to six years in prison for allowing a priest suspected of sexual misconduct with a minor to have continued contact with children.

Msgr. Lynn's sentence fell short of the maximum of 3½ to seven years in prison but was above court guidelines of nine to 18 months. Judge Sarmina said she exceeded the guidelines because Msgr. Lynn endangered children who were exposed to Mr. Avery for several years after Msgr. Lynn became aware of the prior abuse allegations against Mr. Avery. She also said Msgr. Lynn facilitated and supported other accused priests, including one she called a "monster in clerical garb."

"A lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime," said Judge Sarmina.

Victims' advocates and prosecutors were hoping for the maximum but said Tuesday the sentence would still send a message. "The message is clear: Victims have to come first, before institutions," Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said after the sentencing.

Msgr. Lynn's supporters called the sentence excessive, arguing that his hands were tied because his superiors controlled assignments for priests. Some said it was unfair that Mr. Avery, who pleaded guilty to committing abuse, received a lesser prison term than Msgr. Lynn...

Rapists withdraw motion to charge 17-year-old sexual assault victim for tweeting names of attackers

UPDATE: RAPISTS WITHDRAW MOTION TO HAVE THEIR VICTIM CHARGED

Savannah Dietrich Doesn't Face Contempt Charge For Revealing Names Of Sexual Attackers
By JANET CAPPIELLO and BRUCE SCHREINER
Huff Post
07/23/12

Savannah Dietrich was threatened with a contempt charge for tweeting the names of the teens who sexually assaulted her.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A 17-year-old Kentucky girl who defied a court order by tweeting the names of two teenagers who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her won't face a contempt charge.

David Mejia (meh-HEE'-yah), an attorney for one of the accused boys, says the motion to hold 17-year-old Savannah Dietrich of Louisville in contempt was withdrawn Monday.

Mejia says the decision had nothing to do with public sentiment in the case, although an online petition campaign had garnered more than 62,000 signatures. He said there's no need for the motion now that Dietrich spread word about the case over the Internet.

Dietrich told The Courier-Journal she tweeted the names out of frustration with what she feels was a lenient deal for her attackers.



I can understand the desire to protect the identities of juvenile offenders, but I do not believe the court can legally silence a victim. She never agreed to be silent, and there is no law that compels her silence. The offenders can give up some rights in exchange for a deal, but the victim isn't the one making the deal. She doesn't have to give up any rights. This wouldn't even be an issue except that most victims are too damaged and intimidated to speak out.

See Petition to judge in this case.

17-year-old sexual assault victim could face charges for tweeting names of attackers
By Dylan Stableford
Yahoo! News
July 22, 2012

A Kentucky girl who was sexually assaulted could face contempt of court charges after she tweeted the names of her juvenile attackers.

Savannah Dietrich, the 17-year-old victim, was frustrated by a plea deal reached late last month by the two boys who assaulted her, and took to Twitter to expose them--violating a court order to keep their names confidential.

"There you go, lock me up," Dietrich tweeted after naming the perpetrators. "I'm not protecting anyone that made my life a living Hell." Her Twitter account has since been closed.

Attorneys for the attackers asked a Jefferson District Court judge to hold Dietrich in contempt for lashing out on Twitter. She could face up to 180 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted. The boys have yet to be sentenced for the August 2011 attack. "So many of my rights have been taken away by these boys," Dietrich told Louisville's Courier-Journal. "I'm at the point, that if I have to go to jail for my rights, I will do it. If they really feel it's necessary to throw me in jail for talking about what happened to me as opposed to throwing these boys in jail for what they did to me, then I don't understand justice."

Dietrich was assaulted by the pair after passing out at a party. They later shared photos of the assault with friends.

"For months, I cried myself to sleep," Dietrich said. "I couldn't go out in public places."

On June 26, the boys pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor voyeurism. Terms of their plea agreement were not released.

"They got off very easy," Dietrich, who says she was unaware of the plea agreement before it was announced in court, said in her interview with the newspaper. "They said I can't talk about it or I'll be locked up," Dietrich tweeted after hearing, according to the paper. "So I'm waiting for them to read this and lock me up."

"[Protecting rapists] is more important than getting justice for the victim in Louisville," she added.

A hearing for the contempt of court charge is scheduled for July 30. Attorneys for Dietrich want it open to the media, while the boys lawyers want it closed. Both the Gannett-owned Courier-Journal and Dietrich's attorneys "have filed motions to open the proceedings, arguing she has a First Amendment right to speak about what happened in her case," the newspaper said.

An online petition asking the judge to throw out the charges against Dietrich, launched Saturday, has already accumulated hundreds of signatures.

"[She] should not be legally barred from talking about what happened to her," Gregg Leslie, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told the Associated Press. "That's a wide-ranging restraint on speech."


This case actually reminds me a bit of my own case.

How pervasive is the 'Penn State culture' in college athletics?

How pervasive is the 'Penn State culture' in college athletics?
By Karin Klein
LA Times
July 12, 2012

By this point, it comes as no surprise that an exhaustive inquiry into the sexual abuse scandal involving Penn State University and former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky found that it wasn't just a matter of people high and low in the hierarchy who didn't do the right thing. The failure to end the long-term molestations resulted from a university culture in which athletics reigned supreme, football coaches were revered and even feared, and the foremost concern among top officials wasn't to protect children or do the just thing but to protect the university.

I don't doubt any of this, but I can't help wondering whether Penn State was some kind of anomaly in the world of universities with major team-athletics programs. If we looked with equal intensity at the top 50 or so universities in this group, would we find similar disproportionate power among key coaches, similar fear among the people who work for them and a similar culture of protecting the institution above all else?

This isn't to let Penn State off the hook in any way, or to imply that sexual abuse of children is a problem in the world of higher education; the question is whether universities have overlooked longstanding cultures that have the potential to hide a wide range of problems. Have we bowed too much to the mighty athletic program?

Disturbing e-mails could spell more trouble for Penn State officials

As I have said for a decade, there is too much secrecy in schools, including K-12 public schools.

Disturbing e-mails could spell more trouble for Penn State officials
By Susan Candiotti
CNN
July 2, 2012

With convicted serial child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky behind bars, new questions are surfacing about what Penn State officials knew about a 2001 incident involving the former assistant football coach's encounter with a boy in the shower -- and whether they covered up the incident.

Sandusky sexually abused other boys in the years after the 2001 incident and before his arrest.

CNN does not have the purported e-mails. However, the alleged contents were read to CNN.

The messages indicate former Penn State President Graham Spanier and two other former university officials knew they had a problem with Sandusky after a 2001 shower incident, but apparently first decided to handle it using a "humane" approach before contacting outside authorities whose job it is to investigate suspected abuse.

"This is a more humane and upfront way to handle this,' Gary Schultz, who was a university vice president at the time, allegedly wrote.

Sandusky e-mails revealed Sandusky still eligible for pension Attorney: Sandusky disappointed in son Analysis: Jerry Sandusky verdict

Records show no authorities were ever contacted and Sandusky was eventually charged with having sexual contact with four more boys after the 2001 incident. On June 22, Sandusky was convicted of abusing 10 boys over 15 years.

Painful chapter closes with Sandusky's conviction

In an exchange of messages from February 26 to February 28, 2001, Spanier allegedly acknowledges Penn State could be "vulnerable" for not reporting the incident, according to two sources with knowledge of the case.

"The only downside for us is if the message (to Sandusky) isn't 'heard' and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it," Spanier purportedly writes.

The alleged e-mails among Spanier, Schultz, 62, and former Athletic Director Tim Curley, 57, never mention Sandusky by name, instead referring to him as "the subject" and "the person." Children that Sandusky brought on campus --some of whom might have been victims -- are referred to as "guests."

The purported exchanges began 16 days after graduate assistant Mike McQueary first told Head Coach Joe Paterno on February 9, 2001, that McQueary believed he saw Sandusky make sexual contact with a boy in a locker room shower...

Prosecutors want unaired footage in which Jerry Sandusky seems to admit abusing some boys, while saying he didn't abuse others

Prosecutors want unaired footage
NewsCore
FOX News
JUN 18, 2012

Accused Penn State pedophile Jerry Sandusky came off a lot creepier in an exclusive sit-down with NBC last November than anyone knew, but the Peacock Network oddly chose not to air what sounds a lot like an admission of guilt — and now prosecutors want the whole transcript.

"I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped," Sandusky told Costas in footage that never made the November airing.

The disturbing answer first came to light when NBC's "Today" show aired previously unseen transcripts last Tuesday. That prompted prosecutors from the Pennsylvania attorney general's office to contact NBC lawyers on Friday to request that the network turn over and authenticate the entire transcript from the interview that was used to tape the segment that aired on the news program "Rock Center with Brian Williams."

The unaired segment includes a back-and-forth between Costas and Sandusky about his work with young people through his charity for troubled kids, the Second Mile.

"I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people," Sandusky said. "I worked very hard to try to connect with them. To make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten depending on ... I know a lot of young people where it hasn't. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives."

Costas then challenged Joe Paterno's one-time defensive coordinator, saying, "But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized.

"So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D and E. Isn't that possible?" Costas asked Sandusky during the interview.

Sandusky gave an unusual reply.

"Well — you might think that. I don't know. In terms of — my relationship with so many, many young people. I would — I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and — and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life.

"And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have — I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways," he added.

An executive at NBC News, who asked that her identity be withheld, told FOXNews.com, "There were a lot of compelling comments in the original interview, but we did not have time to include them all."