Boston Sexual Abuse Lawyer Blog

Massachusetts Citizens for Children, also known as Mass Kids, a Boston-based nonprofit that advocates for the welfare of children, announced that it recently received an $80,000 grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women to fund a campaign that aims to end child sexual abuse.

Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC) is the lead agency for the Enough Abuse Campaign, an effort that helps communities build local coalitions to prevent child sexual abuse and provides tools and training to educate parents, youth, and a wide range of professionals about prevention strategies.

MCC Executive Director Jetta Bernier said, "This latest grant will help the campaign move closer to its goal, that by 2015 every city and town in Massachusetts will be actively engaged in preventing child sexual abuse in their homes and communities."

The campaign, which launched in 2002, operates in Gloucester/Cape Ann, Orange/Athol, Newton/Waltham, Greater Springfield, Lowell, and in several western Massachusetts rural communities. MCC is looking to establish the campaign on Cape Cod and in Worcester County.

Betta noted that following the recent Penn State child sex abuse scandal, which focused on child abuse allegations against a former assistant football coach dating back to the 1990s, many youth-serving organizations are eager to improve their policies around recruitment, hiring, and supervision and offer training about child sexual abuse prevention for staff and volunteers.

Small to mid-size organizations, however, report they lack the resources and expertise that national organizations do to address the issue, she said.

"The Ms. Foundation grant will help the campaign develop a cadre of consultants and trainers who can assist these organizations improve their capacity to keep children safe from sexual abuse in those settings," according to Betta.

The Ms. Foundations has called the Enough Abuse Campaign "an effort that breaks the mold on child sexual abuse in many ways. It goes beyond a limited set of trainings to foster the building of real and lasting relationships among diverse stakeholders. Its emphasis on community collaboration truly sets it apart from previous efforts."

An assessment of more than 3,000 parents and professionals who participated in community and state-level trainings, conducted by MCC, found that:

95% said the trainings helped them identify problem or abusive behaviors in adults
94% learned how to asses unhealthy sexual behaviors in children and to respond in appropriate and non-shaming ways to address them
95% learned where to go or who to talk to if they suspect someone is sexual abusing
98% would recommend the training to others

The Associated Press reports that a lawyer for clergy sex abuse victims released six new names of clerics accused of abuse, saying that it shows that a crisis that began a decade ago is far from over. One of the priests is the Rev. James Nickel, a Sacred Heart priest who worked in Fairhaven and Cape Cod parishes in the Fall River diocese.

One of the men, who served in New Jersey, is alive. The other five, who served in various Northeast states, are dead, including two who were priests in the Boston Archdiocese.

One of the Boston priests, the Rev. James Lane, reported the notorious abuser John Geoghan to church leaders during the 1980s.

At a news conference, Attorney Mitchell Garabedian singled out the Boston Archdiocese for not disclosing its names first.

"We're doing their work for them by exposing these priests so children can be made safer and victims can heal," Garabedian said.

Terry Donilon, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said Lane and the Rev. Rickard O'Donovan will be added to its list of priests who've been accused of child sex abuse, which was posted online in August.

But Donilon told the AP that the archdiocese was unable to substantiate the accusations against Lane and O'Donovan because they died before the accusations surfaced.

"Every effort is made to fully investigate such claims, but without the ability to question the accused priest, the investigation is limited," he said.

He added the archdiocese will "continue to provide support to survivors and all people who have suffered as a result of clergy sexual abuse."

The clergy sex abuse crisis started in 2002 in Boston and eventually went global after The Boston Globe published stories showing church officials shifted pedophile priests between parishes while keeping quiet about their crimes.

In Garabedian's updated list, the three other deceased clerics who worked in Massachusetts were: Nickel; Brother Peter-Claver, of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart order, who worked at schools in Sharon and Andover, as well as schools in Rhode Island and New Hampshire; and the Rev. Leonard Walsh, a Franciscan who worked in Brookline after postings in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

The living cleric is the Rev. Augustus Scott. He was a priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual working in the Camden, N.J., diocese during the time the abuse is alleged to have occurred between 1969 and 1970. Garabedian said Scott fondled his 16-year-old client several times in Scott's car. He said Scott now lives in North Carolina.

The AP's attempt to reach Scott by searching phone listings was unsuccessful. A spokesman for the Camden diocese said Scott is not an active priest and he doesn't know where he is.

Continue reading "New abuse list includes priest who served in Fairhaven" »

The Berkshire Eagle reports that the man accused of sexually assaulting three elementary students while working as an adjustment counselor at the former Stockbridge Plain School was investigated in 2004 for allegedly inappropriately touching two of those students, though criminal charges weren't filed at the time.

In June 2004, two 10-year-old students told investigators that Scott Muir of Church Street, Stockbridge, had touched or fondled them inappropriately on several occasions. These claims were investigated by Massachusetts State Police Berkshire Detective Unit and the local office of the Department of Children and Families, according to Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless.

The Eagle reports that in a statement, Capeless said the investigation centered on "several" students, but "the information obtained at that time did not warrant the filing of criminal charges against Muir."

A third former student came forward in March of this year, accusing Muir of pulling her out of class as many as two times a week and bringing her to his office and raping her while she was in the first, second and third grades. These alleged incident occurred in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Following an interview with the alleged victim, who is now 16, police brought in the two other students for follow-up interviews. During those conversations, the students said Muir would take them out of class and bring them to his office in 2003 and 2004. While in his office with the door closed, they claim, Muir fondled them on multiple occasions. One of the students alleged Muir raped her.

Muir, 36, was arraigned last week on four counts of rape of a child with force, six counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of attempt to commit a crime -- indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He was released on $10,000 cash bail and is due back in court on May 3.

Muir is a captain of the fire department, the town emergency management director, facilities manager for the Town Offices and a member of the Board of Health.

The Medford Transcript reports that the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has stripped a retired Medford pastor of his priesthood after investigating allegations that he sexually abused women during his time as rector.

Robert M. Durkee, now 85 years old, served as pastor of Grace Episcopal Church on High Street from 1964 to 1989.

In January, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts received a complaint against the former rector, alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a woman in 1980.

"It's my understanding that two additional, possible victims came forward just within the last day or two," said Tracy Sukraw, director of communications for the Diocese.

After receiving the complaint in January, the church suspended Durkee from any and all priestly duties on Feb. 3. He was officially removed from the priesthood on March 27.

Church procedures call for the diocese to report such allegations to local authorities. Medford police are now investigating the allegations, the Transcript reported.

"Everything is very much in the initial stages," Police Chief Leo A. Sacco told the local paper, of the investigation.

Detective Patricia Sullivan of the Medford Police Department is investigating the case. She has 20 years of experience investigating domestic assault and sexual violence cases.

"For those who knew him [Durkee], it was very hard news and emotions, as you can imagine, were all over the place," said Grace Episcopal Church Pastor Rev. Noah Evans.

Evans said less than 20 percent of the Grace Church community today knew Durkee as their pastor.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a registered sex offender was convicted in late March of sexually abusing two young children over three months, authorities said.

Charles Howe Sr., 64, who was convicted in 1983 in Massachusetts of indecent assault and battery of a minor, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Colonial Heights Circuit Court to two felony counts of aggravated sexual battery of two children.

Under terms of a plea agreement, Howe was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison, with all but three years suspended.

After his release, Howe will be committed civilly for at least one year. Prosecutors may seek to have him committed for a longer period under the Virginia Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Act, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Elizabeth Fields.

"Due to the severe emotional trauma caused to the children by this abuse, the commonwealth entered into a plea agreement with the defendant," Fields said. "This was to prevent further trauma to the children and to ensure that the defendant was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, a violent sex-offender registry crime."

The Times Dispatch reported that between Dec. 1, 2010, and April 9, 2011, Howe repeatedly sexually abused the children and the children told their grandmother and parents about the extensive abuse. But the adults kept the abuse quiet and failed to report it to authorities.

The abuse was eventually reported to police by someone outside the victims' home who learned about it, Fields said.

The children's grandmother and father pleaded guilty to one count each of child neglect and abuse, and both were sentenced to 12 months in jail with nine months suspended. The mother's case is pending.

Cool piece in the Somerville Journal about a man performing a one-man show about the sexual abuse he suffered as a youth at the hands of a priest. And kudos to the church for letting him perform it there.

A new support group is forming in the Worcester area to help victims of clergy abuse.

The group, which will meet every fourth Tuesday of the month, will be affiliated with the national Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

David O'Regan, 61, of Spencer, who is helping put the local group together, told the Worcester Telegram and Gazzette that its mission is to keep children safe, help victims heal, and promote public safety.

Mr. O'Regan said he was abused by a priest while attending a summer camp in Wellesley that was run by a Roman Catholic religious order. He said the new group will meet at in Auburn.

"People who were abused need help, even years after the incident occurred," he said.

Mr. O'Regan said there was a local SNAP chapter, but it closed some time ago. Those seeking help and counseling now attend SNAP organizations in Springfield and Boston.

Mr. O'Regan said he was abused by the Rev. Richard J. Ahern, who was the director of Camp Elm Bank. Rev. Ahern is now dead. Mr. O'Regan said the abuse began when he was 11, but he didn't tell anyone until the scandal of priestly sexual abuse rocked the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002.

"I had protected myself from the horrors of my abuse as a child by not allowing my mind to ever revisit the abuse," he said. "I always knew it happened, but I kept myself from thinking about it."

According to published reports, several boys charged they were abused at the camp, which was run by the Stigmatine Fathers. The camp was held at a campus along the Charles River that served as a "minor seminary" for high school boys hoping to become priests.

The estate was sold in 1971 and is now a state park and the headquarters of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

Mr. O'Regan said he felt better emotionally when he began attending a Boston-area SNAP group in 2004. He said he found out about the group from a SNAP
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"Members shared stories of their abuse, their nightmares. Their nightmare was my nightmare and mine theirs," said Mr. O'Regan. "I listened and understood the pain of others and they listened and understood mine."

The local group's first meeting is April 24.

The founder of a western Massachusetts theater has been sentenced to five-to-seven years in prison and five years' probation for his conviction of raping a teenage girl who took acting lessons from him.

The Northwest District Attorney's office said David Fried Oppenheim was sentenced in Hampshire Superior Court. Oppenheim, founder of the defunct Pioneer Arts Center in Easthampton, was convicted last month of child rape and abuse of a child.

The 38-year-old Fried Oppenheim denied the charges in court.

The alleged victim testified the sexual abuse began in 2007 when she was 14 and continued until 2009. Other former students and theater workers testified Oppenheim either had sex with them or acted inappropriately toward them when they were between ages 16 and 19. He wasn't charged over those allegations.

The rape suspect from Massachusetts who was apprehended at a New Jersey home earlier this week was once arrested for attempted murder in Massachusetts, authorities have confirmed, as reported by the Lawrenceville NJ patch.com website.

Byron Garcia, a 30-year-old North Andover, Mass., resident who recently fled Massachusetts amid accusations he had raped a young girl, was arrested Feb. 22 by U.S. Marshals at a home where relatives live in Lawrence Township, NJ. The girl allegedly raped by Garcia is just 4 years old, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Schroeder.

Garcia was arrested in 2009 for armed assault with intent to murder and illegal discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building, among other related charges, after police alleged he fired multiple shots at a car in Lawrence, Mass. No one was injured in that incident.

That case against Garcia was eventually dismissed, however. There had been speculation that the incident was gang-related, as gang violence had spiked during that time. And the alleged victim and witnesses in the case failed to show up to court multiple times, according to Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokesperson for Essex County (Mass.) District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Garcia remains in custody at the Mercer County Correction Center in New Jersey, awaiting extradition to Massachusetts.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Schroeder said police in North Andover, Mass., launched their investigation earlier this month into the alleged sexual assault of the 4-year-old victim and on Feb. 13 issued an arrest warrant for Garcia on charges of rape and indecent exposure involving a child under the age of 14. North Andover police feared Garcia would return to his native country of Guatamala.

Massachusetts State Police contacted the New Jersey State Police with the information that Garcia might be hiding out in Lawrence Township, and the job of going after him was passed Wednesday morning to the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, Schroeder said.

Created in 2002, the task force is made up of personnel from the U.S. Marshals Service, Mercer County Sheriff's Office, New Jersey State Police and about 100 other law enforcement agencies.

Task force members immediately went to the house on Eldridge Avenue in Lawrence Township where, according to Schroeder, several of Garcia's relatives - including his father and stepbrother - live. He said Garcia was found hiding in a bedroom closet.

The founder of a western Massachusetts theater has been convicted of raping a teenage girl who took acting lessons from him.

David Fried Oppenheim, founder of the defunct Pioneer Arts Center in Easthampton, was convicted in early February of child rape and abuse of a child. The Hampshire Superior Court jury in Northampton deliberated over two days. The alleged victim testified the sexual abuse began in 2007 when she was 14 and continued until 2009.

Other former students and theater workers testified he either had sex with them or acted inappropriately toward them when they were between ages 16 and 19. He wasn't charged over those allegations.

The 38-year-old Fried Oppenheim also testified and denied the charges.

Bail was set at $5,000 and sentencing set for March 8. Sentencing guidelines are in the 3-to-5-year range. The maximum is life.

A Queens, NY judge has rejected Bob Oliva's motion to dismiss the $20 million lawsuit filed by a man who was sexually abused by the former Christ the King Regional High School basketball coach.

The decision by Queens Supreme Court Judge Roger N. Rosengarten means the case will go to trial later this year unless Oliva's attorney, Henry Weil, files an appeal or Oliva reaches a settlement with the plaintiff, Jimmy Carlino.

"The trial will continue to expose Bob Oliva for the sexual predator that he is," Carlino's Boston-based attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, told the New York Daily News.

The Daily News reported that Oliva admitted in a Boston courtroom last year that he had sexually abused Carlino during a trip to Massachusetts in 1976, when Carlino was 14. Oliva was sentenced to probation for five years and required to register as a sex offender.

Weil had argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because it was barred by the statute of limitations and Oliva had not been charged or convicted of abusing Carlino in New York.

Rosengarten wrote in his decision that under New York law, the clock on the statute of limitation is reset after a defendant is convicted of a crime -- and that it doesn't matter where the crime occurred or where the defendant was charged.

The lawsuit, filed on April 1, 2011, three days before Oliva pleaded guilty to two sex-abuse charges, says the disgraced former coach abused Carlino more than 100 times between 1974 and 1978. Most of the abuse took place in New York, the suit says, but Oliva also molested Carlino during out-of-state trips.

Another man told the Boston grand jury that indicted Oliva that the legendary coach had sexually abused him also.

The lawyer for a Plymouth (MA) priest placed on leave by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston pending an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse dating to the early 1980s says his client has been wrongly accused.

The Rev. James Braley, pastor of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha parish, was placed on leave earlier in February. William Sullivan, the lawyer who represents Braley, told the Patriot Ledger that the charge is "unsupported, inaccurate and untruthful.''

Sullivan says Braley was shocked to learn of the allegation and wants to clear his name.

While on leave, the 62-year-old Braley is not allowed to present himself as a priest or perform any of the duties of a priest. He is also not allowed to live at the rectory.

The Boston Globe reports that a Burlington woman has filed a civil lawsuit against her uncle, alleging that he raped her repeatedly as a child and subjected her to sexual abuse from 10 other men, before her family coerced her into signing an agreement absolving him from responsibility.

Rosanne Sliney, 48, filed a civil complaint in Middlesex Superior Court accusing Domenic A. Previte Jr., 70, of Waltham, of abuse and stating that he confessed to it years later in a signed letter to his niece. The Globe (and this blog) does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse but the Globe used Sliney's name because she has chosen to go public with her allegations and she included her own name in the complaint.

"You were like a flower in springtime,'' Previte wrote in the letter, according to a copy included in Sliney's complaint. "I admired and respected you and loved you as my own daughter. . . . Somehow things got twisted. . . . I had confused my love for you with sex.''

The abuse at the hands of Previte occurred at locations including his home in Waltham, his car wash business in Cambridge, and a movie theater in Woburn, the complaint states.

Sliney contends the abuse began when she was 5 and lasted until she was about 14. Her family pressured her to sign an agreement in 1991 releasing Previte from any responsibility in exchange for a payment from him of $26,500, according to the complaint.

She alleges in the complaint that she did not understand the nature of the agreement that she signed in her late 20s, because of her damaged mental state after the abuse.

Though Sliney was told that Previte would take care of her for the rest of her life, the complaint states, her uncle has refused to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills related to mental health problems stemming from the abuse.

Sliney also asserts that she has begun during the last year to recall Previte forcing her to engage in sex acts with 10 other men, who are listed as codefendants in the lawsuit, but who are not identified by name.

The state corporations database lists Previte as the president of Previte Real Estate and Investments Inc. in Waltham, a business specializing in car wash purchases and sales.

A Suffolk Superior Court judge will decide whether to dismiss a lawsuit against Children's Hospital Boston, after hearing arguments this week on the suit filed on behalf of 11 people who say they were abused by pediatrician Melvin Levine, when he worked in North Carolina.

Levine, who has been accused of sexually abusing dozens of children during medical treatments, had been an esteemed doctor at Children's and later became a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill. He committed suicide last February. A class action suit had been filed against him at the time, but Levine had never faced criminal charges stemming from the allegations.

The Boston lawsuit contends that Children's Hospital could have prevented the abuses alleged in North Carolina if it had reported earlier complaints made about the doctor.

The Boston Globe reports that attorneys for Children's Hospital argued in Court that the hospital had no duty to report complaints to institutions that employed Levine after he left Boston.

"There is simply no duty under Massachusetts law between Children's Hospital and these North Carolina plaintiffs," said Gail Ryan, an attorney for the hospital.

The lawsuit, she continued, could set a bad precedent.

"We're talking about fundamental notions of the meaning of negligence," the Globe quoted Ryan as saying. "[The lawsuit] would open up this court to any out-of-state litigant who wanted to come back in here and file a suit against any former employer for potential acts of their former employees years down the road."

But Mark Itzkowitz, an attorney for the North Carolina plaintiffs, told the Globe that the hospital had received complaints about the doctor as early as 1967, and should have suspected that potential abuses could occur at other hospitals.

"The public is reliant on the medical community to police its own physicians," Itzkowitz said.

Judge Merita Hopkins did not specify when she will make a decision on whether the suit can go forward.

The Boston Globe reports that New England Conservatory officials said they have received no complaints from students or alumni about a convicted sex offender hired by renowned conductor Benjamin Zander to make videos over the past decade.

Karen Schwartzman, a spokeswoman for the conservatory, would not confirm that Zander had been fired, but she said in a phone interview that his departure was warranted.
Zander believed Peter Benjamin was remorseful and determined to turn his life around.

Zander was one of numerous faculty members who used the services of Peter E. Benjamin, 68, but he was the only one to admit knowledge of the videographer's crimes. Zander has said he was fired after refusing to resign.

"His decision showed poor judgment,'' Schwartzman said. "The conservatory had no choice but to take the action it took.''

Benjamin spent five years in prison during the 1990s after pleading guilty to charges of rape and sex abuse. His case included allegations that he secretly videotaped himself having sex with three teenage boys.

Zander, 72, the revered conductor of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and faculty member for the past 45 years, left a deep imprint on the thousands of students he inspired with rousing talks and exacting standards over more than four decades at the New England Conservatory, leaving many dismayed that he left on such a discordant note.

Schwartzman acknowledged during the weekend that the institution did not follow its own policies to protect children. She said that in November 2010 the school began screening its vendors for criminal backgrounds, not just staff and volunteers, which they had previously done to comply with state law. They did not check Benjamin's background, however.

Last week, school officials sent e-mails to some 6,500 current and former students and their families, explaining that they learned in mid-December that a videographer on campus was a convicted sex offender.

During the weekend, Zander sent a letter to his youth orchestra telling them he preferred to stay in a job he adored. He told them he knew Benjamin's crimes were of a "sexual nature,'' but he said he did not know details.

New England Conservatory officials yesterday said they have received no complaints from students or alumni about a convicted sex offender hired by renowned conductor Benjamin Zander to make videos over the past decade, and they defended the decision to cut ties with him last week.

Karen Schwartzman, a spokeswoman for the conservatory, would not confirm that Zander had been fired, but she said in a phone interview that his departure was warranted.
Zander believed Peter Benjamin (above) was profoundly remorseful and determined to turn his life around.

WBZTV

Zander believed Peter Benjamin (above) was profoundly remorseful and determined to turn his life around.

"There might be some who think that certain people in an organization can be held to a different standard, because of their prominence or because of the number of years they have been affiliated or because of their role or because of the degree to which they are revered,'' Schwartzman said. "But when an institution is presented with information that a senior faculty member has made a decision without consulting anyone else about bringing a sex offender on a campus that serves children, the organization has no choice but to take strong disciplinary measures.''

Zander was one of numerous faculty members who used the services of Peter E. Benjamin, 68, but he was the only one to admit knowledge of the videographer's crimes. Zander has said he was fired after refusing to resign.

"His decision showed poor judgment,'' Schwartzman said. "The conservatory had no choice but to take the action it took.''

Benjamin spent five years in prison during the 1990s after pleading guilty to charges of rape and sex abuse. His case included allegations that he secretly videotaped himself having sex with three teenage boys.

Zander, 72, the revered conductor of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and faculty member for the past 45 years, left a deep imprint on the thousands of students he inspired with rousing talks and exacting standards over more than four decades at the New England Conservatory, leaving many dismayed that he left on such a discordant note.

But in interviews on and off campus yesterday, students and their parents had mixed feelings about Zander's departure.

"Sometimes he does things that annoy people, but like a lot of students, I think [Zander] is a very, very, very great person,'' said Rafael Horowitz Friedman, 19, a freshman oboist. "I can see why the administration thought he used poor judgment. But is this the way to treat someone who had such a huge impact for so many years?''

While dropping his son off at the school, Bill McShane said he thought the administration responded in a "knee-jerk fashion.''

"You get the sense that the administration was reacting to national concerns,'' he said. "At the very least, I think Zander had the responsibility to inform the conservatory that he was employing a sex offender. But I still don't think I would have fired someone who has been there for so long and done so much good.''

"It seems unfair to me,'' said his son, Billy McShane, 19, a sophomore.

Others said the school, which could be held legally accountable for any crimes committed on campus, had no choice.

"Zander has been really great for the conservatory, and I think he's a fantastic musician,'' said Vani Jagannathan of Southborough, who has a son and daughter in the conservatory's youth program. "As a parent, my first obligation is to my child. If the university administration thinks they made the right decision, I support them.''

Schwartzman acknowledged during the weekend that the institution did not follow its own policies to protect children. She said that in November 2010 the school began screening its vendors for criminal backgrounds, not just staff and volunteers, which they had previously done to comply with state law. They did not check Benjamin's background, however.

Last week, school officials sent e-mails to some 6,500 current and former students and their families, explaining that they learned in mid-December that a videographer on campus was a convicted sex offender.

During the weekend, Zander sent a letter to his youth orchestra telling them he preferred to stay in a job he adored. He told them he knew Benjamin's crimes were of a "sexual nature,'' but he said he did not know details.

He also told students he thought his removal had been influenced by other events, including previous disagreements with conservatory president Tony Woodcock.

"I felt it was the right thing at the time to give this man a chance,'' Zander wrote. "I deeply regret the upset I have brought to you all inadvertently as a result of the way this has all played out.''