BREWER, Maine — As someone who has been active in the Boy Scouts of America for much of his life — including a stint as president of the Katahdin Area Council — Daniel Lee said Friday that he was taken aback to learn that thousands of Boy Scouts of America files detailing thousands of incidents of proven and suspected child abuse and molestation included 46 cases from Maine.
“Everybody in Scouting knew of the Oregon case,” he said. After Thursday’s release of a Los Angeles Times database offering the public a look into the Boy Scouts of America’s files, “I said, ‘Wow, they have files in Maine?’”
Lee, who also has served on the Katahdin Area Council’s executive board and as its vice president for administration, and is a Life Scout himself, said he has never laid eyes on such files or contributed to one and did not know of anyone who has. He also said he didn’t know who in the organization would have access to the files.
About 50 people and at least 38 communities in Maine were listed in the Times database, which contains records of incidents of suspected or proven child abuse or molestation involving Boy Scouts of America members.
On Thursday, the Bangor Daily News confirmed the names of three Mainers named on the blacklist. On Friday, the names of four more people who were placed on the list were confirmed.
The Boy Scouts of America files cover 1,247 cases of suspected child molestation or abuse nationwide from 1965 through 1985. The Los Angeles Times added those to previously amassed files from 1947 to 2005 to form a database of more than 5,000 cases.
A timeline of Boy Scouts of America’s youth protection efforts posted on its website, however, shows that as far back as 1929, the organization began “cross-referencing all adult volunteers against a list of ‘ineligible volunteers’ maintained at its national headquarters.” This list contained the names of “individuals deemed by the BSA as not having the moral, emotional, or character values for membership in the BSA.”
The database was augmented Thursday by the court-ordered release of Boy Scouts of America files used to keep records of people blacklisted by the organization for suspected or proven child abuse and sexual offenses.
“You know, I’ll just tell you that it’s a little surprising to me that people are making this such an issue,” Lee said Friday.
Noting that the files at issue date as far back as 1947, Lee said documenting incidents of suspected or proven abuse or molestation “seems like a reasonable thing to do when you don’t have computers.”
Furthermore, he said, more than two-thirds of the cases involved the police.
“Why would you not keep a file on someone you don’t want back? That seems reasonable to me,” he said.
“Will this tarnish the image of the Boy Scouts? I think that would be unfortunate because of all the good it does. Again, what’s the scandal here?”
Lee said Boy Scouts of America goes to great lengths to protect its youth.
“They do more in Scouting than we do in public schools,” said Lee, who is also Brewer’s school superintendent. “That’s why it’s so sad to see this.”
“Scouting is very clear about this. This isn’t about protecting the organization. It’s about protecting the child,” Lee said. “The Scouting brand is too important to be tarnished by this kind of thing.”
According to Lee, prospective Boy Scouts of America employees and volunteers undergo a rigorous vetting process that includes, among other things, criminal background checks, interviewing character references and required annual youth protection training.
Other steps Boy Scouts of America takes to ensure the safety of children include mandatory reporting of all suspicions of abuse to the proper authorities, requiring that Scouts and adult leaders have separate accommodations when camping or on outings, and requiring that adults respect youths’ privacy. For coed overnight activities, including family events, both male and female adult leaders must be present, Lee said, citing Boy Scouts of America policy.
The Boy Scouts of America also has a ban on one-on-one contact between adults and Scouts at any time and requires “two-deep leadership” on all outings, which Lee said means that two adults must be present on all trips and outings.
“What that means is [that as an adult] you are never alone with a Scout. You are always in full view of others.”
The Boy Scouts of America began putting youth protection measures into place in 1911, a year after it was founded.
“You can’t get near a kid without taking the training,” said Lee, who now serves on the Katahdin Area Council’s executive board as the past president.
“We also provide training for Scouts 11 and up so they know if they are being groomed,” he said.
On Thursday, the Bangor Daily News confirmed that three of the Maine cases — originating from Casco, Hallowell and Westbrook — involved men who were denied registration and permanently banned from the Boy Scouts of America:
• William Boyd Brown, Westbrook, 1977: Brown was listed as a 34-year-old married man working as a reserve police officer and a counselor for the University of Maine in Portland. Documents show disagreement about whether to register him as a probationary Scoutmaster despite a 1977 conviction in Cumberland County for fondling a 14-year-old girl. He received a 90-day suspended sentence and one year of probation.
• Fred A. Cram, Casco, 1984: Cram, 32, was convicted of unlawful sexual contact in Cumberland County Superior Court in December 1983 for an incident in which “he picked up some youngsters to go to camp, but ended up in a motel with them,” according to official Boy Scouts of America executive correspondence. He was given a two-year prison sentence with all but 120 days suspended.
• Alfred J. Conrad, Augusta, 1984: Conrad received a five-year prison sentence for a morals and sodomy charge in 1982, the Boy Scouts of America documents said. He had not been officially registered with the Pine Tree Council since 1979.
On Friday, the names of four more people placed on the blacklist were confirmed:
• Harold E. Bailey, Bucksport, 1978: Bailey, 51 and single, was listed as a retired U.S. Air Force veteran employed by St. Regis Paper Co. Boy Scouts of America documents state that Bailey resigned as his troop’s Scoutmaster in April 1988 “because of alleged homosexual conduct with several members of the troop.” Court documents show that Bailey was convicted in November 1978 of unlawful sexual contact, which is a Class C felony, and sexual abuse of a minor. He was sentenced to one year in jail for the offenses.
• Gene Vincent Graves, Mars Hill, 1964: Graves is listed as a 29-year-old married man and father of a preschool-aged son. His file contains court documents that show he was convicted of illegal possession of obscene literature for an incident that occurred in May 1964. He was fined $150 and sentenced to 30 days in jail. He filed an appeal but his Boy Scouts of America file did not include information about the final outcome.
Graves also was charged with “indecent liberties” in April and in May of 1964. No information about the final disposition of either charge was contained in the file.
• David J. Brunette, Kittery, 1983: Brunette, a 39-year-old unmarried man and a Scoutmaster, was placed on the list after Boy Scouts of America officials learned he had been convicted of four misdemeanors in New Hampshire for which he received a fine and a three-month jail sentence, with one month suspended, and that he was appealing the sentence. They also learned Brunette had been charged with endangering the welfare of a child in Maine.
The Maine incident, for which he was indicted, occurred in September 1982 in Kittery. Court documents state that Brunette gave a 13-year-old boy alcohol to drink and engaged in a sexual act with him. Court documents from New Hampshire stated that Brunette stayed in a motel room with a 14-year-old boy during two trips in that state. During one of the trips, he gave the boy wine to drink. During the other, he masturbated in front of the youth “on two or more occasions.”
• Frederick Maitland, Cumberland, 1983: Boy Scouts of America documents show that Maitland, 51, was asked to serve as Scoutmaster of a Falmouth troop but withdrew because he felt it was best not to serve in that position “because some people may have a misconception of the incident published in the newspaper in Lowell, Mass.” The incident involved a charge that he engaged in “an unnatural act and lewdness” with a minor for which he was arraigned. The file did not contain information about the outcome of the case.
None of the four men is listed on the state of Maine’s sex offender registry, nor were the three whose names were released Thursday.
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, issued a statement Friday urging police and prosecutors to scour the list and beg others to step forward.
“This is the first time a nationwide organization has been forced by brave victims and wise judges to disgorge their secrets about proven, admitted and credibly accused child sex offenders,” said David Clohessy, director of SNAP, a support group that also has members who were victims in other settings or institutions, including Boy Scouts of America.
“Many of these crimes happened years ago, of course. But many of those who committed and concealed them are still around and walking free,” said Barbara Dorris, SNAP’s outreach director.
“Law enforcement officials should use their skills, resources and ‘bully pulpits’ to urge victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward immediately so that at least some of these wrongdoers can be prosecuted.”
“We applaud these brave men who found the courage to step forward, reveal their abuse and take legal action to help themselves and others. Virtually everything we know about the abuse and the cover-ups in Scouting have been because of the victims not Scouting officials,” said Dorris.
BDN writers Andrew Neff and Nick McCrea and online editor Will Davis contributed to this report.
It’s very difficult to believe that this man had no idea.
i agree
No idea of what? Please be more specific.
Idea of what? My reading tells me he had no idea of the existence of files on suspected cases.
‘”You know, I’ll just tell you that it’s a little surprising to me that people are making this such an issue,” Lee said Friday.’
This statement, alone, is one of the reasons people are making ‘such an issue’. How in the world could a man who has worked with children for apparent decades NOT see it as an issue?
Makes you wonder doesn’t it
Absolutely. He reminds me of the bishops and cardinals who “had no idea” the sexual abuse of minors was going on. You have to wonder why someone would ignore the obvious.
I said it before, ignorance and denial….time to put these pedophiles out in the open
For the most part they were brought out into the open.
I think you need to read the article again. Mr. Lee does not appear to be expressing wonder or surprise abuse of minors occurred. Rather he was amazed that files were being kept.
One word, blinders.
It just goes to show you that someone like Dan Lee, with whatever education he has had in his lifetime, has absolutely no common sense. This Dan Lee guy never ceases to amaze me with the statements that come out of his mouth. I hope he retires soon and goes away, never to be heard from again.
Read again the article. Mr. Lee stated he was not aware of files being kept. That’s very different than expressing surprise sexual abuse of minors was going on.
Daniel Lee made a strong case for the Boy Scout organization. Why is his statement “one of the reasons people are making ‘such an issue'”, as you stated? I’m much more worried about all the youth organizations that have no program to prevent abuse, unlike the BSA. From this article and from my experience in my own limited participation in the organization as an observer it’s obvious to me that the BSA is being singled out for obviously trying to prevent abuse. For that reason I am woefully taken aback by your negative attitude. Believe me this view of yours is not helpful to those individuals and few organizations like the BSA who are genuinely trying to protect children.
One more thing, since SNAP was mentioned in the article, let me inform the readers the leader of this organization was secretly recorded at one of their conventions as stating that their main objective was to bring down the Catholic Church. Those who were present at the convention were expressing the same sentiment. It’s obvious the motives of this liberal group are more political than governed by a genuine need to assist victims of abuse. But the media in general has chosen not to make this issue public. If this group and the media was really interested in rooting out child abuse they would focus some of their attacks on other organizations like Planned Parenthood, for instance, that has been shown repeatedly shielding adult predators who impregnate teenage girls. Instead, they are focusing on the Catholic Church and the BSA. Let’s not be fooled by their real intent.
Curious, whawell, what is negative about my statement? This is something that should have been addressed by the BSA long ago, just as with clergy who perpetrate the same abuse. I said NOTHING about it being negative. What I was addressing, sorry if it was worded in too complex a manner, is that there is no way on earth that anyone who works with children could NOT see this as an issue. If Lee works with children and does NOT see child abuse as an issue that should inflame the public, perhaps it’s time to remove him from any opportunity to interact with children.
What you posted was a knee jerk reaction. There is nothing in my post that is negativity directed toward the BSA. It’s nice that you were an observer. I was a den mother and the mother of an Eagle Scout with Order of the Arrow, so please don’t accuse me of negativity toward the BSA.
What specifically should have been addressed by the BSA long ago? Are you insinuating the BSA did not address the abuse problem? If anything they made a list of suspected abusers, instituted programs to prevent abuse, and reported much of it except maybe some isolated incidents the article does not even mention. So what seems to be the problem here? Am I missing something here?
By the way, Lee didn’t say that he did not see child abuse as an issue. If you read the entire article and take what he stated in context you can only conclude he was expressing his amazement at how the organization’s handling of suspected cases was being made an issue and how he was amazed to find out there were files kept on Mainers. Apparently he was not fully aware of the registry system.
Frankly, I don’t even understand why the author felt a need to list the identities of Mainers that were found to be in the registry. That somehow the revelation of these identities should reflect unfavorably against the Scouts is beyond me.
No kidding! Scary thought isn’t it?? when he is the current superintendent of the Brewer Schools!
I didn’t know that he is superintendent of Brewer Schools. Yes, when someone works that closely with the welfare of children and does not see child abuse as an ‘issue’, it’s is scary.
Bard, again, I must point out in all fairness to Mr. Lee, that he did not indicate that child abuse is not an issue to him. Instead he indicated his amazement that files were kept on Mainers. Regrettably many posters including the prior poster (nonalee) have jumped to that erroneous conclusion in apparent haste.
I think Lee should have Red Flags all over his name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get him out of that position if he is surprised that it’s not an issue!!!! He is in denial!!!!!
Poster Bard Summer jumped the gun. She stated falsely stated Mr. Lee “does not see child abuse as an ‘issue'”. Mr. Lee did not indicate that. That was her rendering.
Maybe his name is on “the list”
I agree with you Barb,…..ignorance and denial….
yeppers, I wounder about Lee himself, is he on the list or should he be ON the LIST. What about list of brewer school employee’s how many of them are on or should be on A LIST.
With morons like Lee running the show it makes me wonder how long Rev. Carlson would have continued to molest boys. Thank goodness the family wrote that letter to the boy scouts….
Mr Daniel Lee, how can you be literally believe than Maine would be immune to predator situations? What naive planet do you live on or are you simply denying the truth again! Just because this is the Katharine does not make your neighbor holy’er than the Catholic Church? I remember clearly the “Coles Farm” incidence from Gray in the late 1990’s – 100s of boys misused? Most of those boys had met the predators through the boy scouts outings! How soon we forget when we put blinders on! And, its great that Katahdin makes rigorous vetting and investigations of Scout leaders. However, if YOU don’t report the cases, then the predators never appear on the radar screen, do they! Wake up, Mr Lee. This is Maine and not Disney World.
By the way, today is Spirit Day! Have your Boy Scouts wear something purple – not to indicate their rank, but to support the young LGBT and other bullied youth! And maybe, just maybe, if your leaders and troops were exposed to all walks of life, you would be less blind to the youngsters being violated within your ranks!
I’m sorry but I can not support spirit day. I was violated. Not by you or any of your spirit day supporters.
I have read these articles over the last couple of days and I am tired of being quiet.
From my experience, I did not meet any predators through the Boy Scout outings. He was our scout master and always invited us to his camp. It was only one bad man and not several as this comment from Stonerights suggests.
My guess would be that at each troop that had problems, it was only one, maybe two, of the adults in the local troop, that molested the boys.
Roger, I hope you know how much your courage helps another young boy who may be experiencing this as we “speak.” Young male victims need to hear that it has happened to other boys, too. They need to have living examples speak out, as you have,so they will feel less afraid to start the escape.
I am so sorry you experienced this. I am so sorry your childhood was stolen. And I am glad you have the power, today, to not let that horror steal your adulthood.
“The Scouting brand is too important to be tarnished by this kind of thing,”
But denying homosexuals and atheist, they have no problem with that.
I agree with you on this. Lee has no clue what went on when I was in the boy scouts.
I read your story below but didn’t leave a comment because to be honest, I didn’t know what to say. I’m still at a lost for words over your post. Made me feel very sad inside.
Thank you. I was told/made to believe that it was normal behavior. I’m kind of glad this came out in the news.
On a side note, I do like reading your comments. You usually tell it like it is.
I hope a story like this can help with your healing and allow you to move even further forward with your life. At least the truth is being told. Shouldn’t have taken this long though and thank you for the nice comment.
It is good that the truth is coming out, but if you hover your mouse over the red dots on the map you will see that there are very few that have a pdf of the “results”.
BTW, I was the one who asked you about GIS. Sorry I was a little sarcastic.
I didn’t take it as being sarcastic at all. I would have done a double take as well considering your profession.
test
Edit
Yes, hire more gays. That should solve the problem. Blinders anyone?
homosexuality and pedophilia are not the same. Homosexuals are attracted to the same sex and consenting adults. Pedophiles are attracted to prepubescent children as sexual partners, who are not able to consent.
This is an interesting article on the subject –
http://www.joekort.com/articles50.htm
Oh give me a break remember all the little girls who get molested every day by HETEROSEXUAL males? Try Again.
So you are telling all of us that only gays molest kids ? Ok if that’s the way you think than all men are drunks an cause all domestic violence an all women are prostitutes an all kids are dug addicts
Sad that so many people have not yet learned the pedophilia is a power based action and has nothing to do with being heterosexual or homosexual.
Also sad, is the fact that pedophiles are attracted to positions of authority in which they have power over children.
Yes you are so right but as you know an i know even if you show them facts they will not believe it they have there mind all ready made up an there’s nothing you can do about it .
Bard, I think you need to re-educate yourself on the issue. While not all gays are sexual abusers of minors, this type of abuse is more common among them than with heterosexuals.
outinthepuckerbursh, only small minded people equate being gay with being a pedophile. I worked for several years for an organization that addressed the needs of families whose child(ren) had been molested. I do not recall even ONE instance in which the pedophile was NOT heterosexual. Before you jump all over that, I’m sure there are homosexuals who are also pedophiles, however, the problem does not stem from being homosexual; the problem stems from having genitals. ANYBODY could be a pedophile, just an anybody could be left or right handed.
…. your comment is baseless!! your dead wrong on that comment!!! NOT ANYBODY ignorance overrides stupidity
Kevin, the BSA is a religiously based organization. Tell me, would not atheist organizations deny membership to Christians who defend their faith? Of course they would. As a Christian I have no problem with the BSA denying membership to would-be leaders who uphold values that run contrary to those of the organization.
No, an atheist organization would not deny membership to a Christian. If you desire to become a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation or join American atheist go for it. I can assure you of one thing. Atheist are a lot more tolerant of others than so called Christians.
Tolerance? Only when things go their way. For starts just observe how intolerant some liberal, atheistic posters in this forum are towards me. I don’t mind a good argument or appeal to reason, bu there is no need for character assassination, distortions, false accusations, and name-calling. Oh, I’ve met some tolerant atheists in my lifetime. Now they’re rare indeed and mostly militant.
Your username fits you well. Wha, wha, wha, wha, wha.
Kev, from your reaction I rest my case.
The same response from Catholic Bishops?
Why go there? Has nothing to do with this.
Actually, it just might. I am pretty sure, in Ireland, at least, the names of kids, may have been shared by clergy with scouts there. Or maybe the pedophiles just knew which families were vulnerable. Yes, families. A single mom, with no adult male in the picture, was more likely to have her kids abused, because there were no guys to seeks retribution on those who violated their sons. A second, or younger son was more likely, by birthplace to abused than an older son. Some Catholic clergy refused to see, others saw and ignored.
Not to excuse that behavior, but this kind of abuse was talked about so many years ago. Services were far fewer and not every one knew where to go with those kind of accusations. And yes, there was a protect the church kind of mentality, both among the clergy and many lay people. It was sad and it was wrong.
At least today, more kids know that this behavior by adults is wrong and they know to report it right away. It was kids like you that led the way. We know there was abuse and we know how it affected their lives and now we educate our children and we can get them help when abuse does occur.
Ummmmm……Remember Carlson who got an award from the Boy Scouts????
That’s what caused the family to come forward, RevOleson.
Captain ” Renault ” Lee : ” I’m shocked, shocked to find child abuse going on in here !”
Interesting self-contradiction:
“This isn’t about protecting the organization. It’s about protecting the child,” Lee said. “The Scouting brand is too important to be tarnished by this kind of thing.”
“The Scouting brand is too important” sounds an awful lot more like “protecting the organization” to me. It’s like something a marketing executive would say about a dangerously defective product, as though the issue were the impact on the company’s stock price, not the possibility of customers getting hurt.
Lee said Boy Scouts of America goes to great lengths to protect its youth.
“They do more in Scouting than we do in public schools,” said Lee, who is also Brewer’s school superintendent. “That’s why it’s so sad to see this.” He is also the superintendent in the Dedham school… So, he is saying that the boy scouts police their actions more than they do in the public schools, how scary is that?????
I’m one of those kids from the 70s. I read the article from earlier today and downloaded the pdf about the guy that did this to me. He was punished, but I still suffer.
I still remember when I was supeonaed to see the DA. The first thing I was asked was “If I told you that one of your friends said you did it, what would you have to say.” I was made to feel like the guilty one. That wouldn’t happen in todays age. I remember this very clearly. At least I got the per diem($14) for a witness at the time.
This guy Lee doesn’t have a clue. Mr. Lee, I am almost 49 years old, and this is still an issue for me. I think about this every day. No one knows what really happened to me, but me. I told my parents that nothing happened, except for him asking me what I knew about things. I told my wife the very basics about what happened.
I was abused by a boy scout leader, in NY state, in the late sixties. The man who did it, was in ROTC. He went on active duty, in the Air Force i 1969. Later that year, I was interrogated by the head of the local scout council and told, “we need to keep this quiet, or “Dick” will get in trouble with the Air Force”.
I learned today, from a detective in NY, that “Dick is now in prison. He finally got caught, in 2009. FORTY YEARS, and dozens of victims later. He was in the BSA file. But, not until years after the organization knew full well about his activities, with me and with many others.
Sorry to hear about what happened to you. I was never interrogated by the local scout council. But the feeling I got from the DA in my county was the same. I felt guilty. I lied to my Dad about what happened, when he asked me, but I thought I would be in trouble. I know now that I was wrong at the time.
Roger, you had no reason to trust any adult at the time. The people who were supposed to protect you, failed, maybe through no fault of their own, but that didn’t help you. Try to imagine what might have happened, AT THAT TIME, if you had told. The same protections we have today were not available to you.
I am not suggesting that lying to your father was right, but it was what you needed to do to protect yourself at the time. Maybe that makes it somehow less wrong. Even today, I am sure your father would understand that you needed to lie to protect yourself. Those were serious accusations maybe even more so back then and sadly, I am sure, there would have been some who believed you were lying. Even with all we know today, there were some that believed Bob Carlson was innocent.
If you have not received counselling, it is not too late. My late husband finally went for counselling during the trial of a priest in Massachusetts. He was not that man’s victim but the tearing open of old wounds, along with the birth of a new baby, was just to much for him. I supported him every step of the way. I allowed him to talk about it as much as he needed to and by finally getting it all out in the open, he was finally able to begin to deal with it. Again, my prayers are with you that you find the healing and peace you deserve.
So sorry for all you went through. You were so brave to testify. Sadly, what you went through can happen today. In so many ways children are the victims, and made to feel they are. Blessings to you and other victims like you.
Sorry to disappoint you. I did not testify. I should have. I was so scared. I was hauled out of seventh grade class to go to court. I lied to the DA and said nothing happened. The local cops came to school and gave me a supeana, I hate spelling that word, and I was so embarrassed. The principal called me to the office……..
I think everyone knew what was going on but after I got back I never heard a thing. I kept to myself throughout High School.
Thank you for the comment, but I still hurt to this day.
You’re not disappointing anyone and please don’t do that to yourself. Of course you were scared- how could you not be? I hope you are healing as each day goes on and that you have a loving and understanding support system with family and friends. I am very sorry for your experience and I hope you are taking care of your needs in order to not hurt on a daily basis. My thoughts are with you Roger.
Roger, you were a child, doing what a child needed to do to survive. This was something that was done to you, NOT by you. NO, you should NOT have testified if was going to do you more harm than good. Back at that time, discussions of abuse were not always handled well and victims were rarely protected the way they are today. Never feel guilty about not testifying either, as a child it was NOT your job to protect others.
My late husband was abused first by Irish clergy then by a Scoutmaster there. I have often wondered if names of boys who weren’t telling were shared. Or maybe pedophiles just knew which families to victimize. A widowed mother who spent a lot of hours working to support her family, my husband’s mother did not want to believe what happened to him when he finally told. It was his older brother who brought out into the open.
I can imagine you do think of it every day. You don’t really get over events like that, but if you can make some kind kind of peace with it, you can learn to co-exist with it. But then stories like these come out and open a lot of old wounds. My prayers are with you that you can find the peace you so deserve. Just remember none of this is your fault. All of the fault and all of the guilt belong to the person who did these things to you.
Such a scary thing for a kid to have to go through. The court system often times sees children as nothing more than short adults who should have the same ability to use reason and logic as an adult who has always been treated well all their life.
Glad you’ve told the wive. She’s no doubt your biggest advocate. And not the best revenge is to life well, ;D
roger, tell us the name of your abuser please.
None of your business.
Roger, most adults, sadly, have no clue. And I can thoroughly understand you’re not telling the truth. I was victimized by a family member when I was 8 years old. Fortunately, he did not get so far as to actually molest me; somehow, even as a child, I knew it was wrong and was able to extricate myself from his grasp. When I told the family members who should have been concerned about it, I was called a liar and was branded the family liar to this day. Subsequently, this person was found guilty of molesting other children and served too small an amount of time for it. After that the family considered that I ‘may’ have been telling the truth those many years ago, but now that he has served his time he is no longer a pedophile.
Somebody posted the one word “blinder” with reference to Lee not seeing this as an issue. That says it in a nutshell.
Roger, child abuse should not happen to any one. But you appear not to have completely healed from this since the occurrence in the 70’s. As you stated, “…,but I still suffer”. I know what I say will probably anger you, but you have no need to suffer any longer from something horrible that occurred long time ago. The past is the past and at some point you need to leave it behind completely. Otherwise, you are your own enemy. If you are having coping issues, you need to deal with those issues, not those issues that occurred when you were a child and were not responsible for what happened to you then. I would suggest you put those past issues behind you and deal with what bothers you today, as today always presents enough new challenges to keep us busy. Keep in mind, the problems of the past are just that, that is, past in time and no longer within our reach.
If only those like you concerned only with the unborn would express the same moral outrage over the Republican obsession with making the lives of the living poor ever more miserable in order to enrich your beloved millionaires. And seek reduced military budgets in the process.
Huh?
Yeah, huh? Please share how your comment relates to the article???
WE NEED NAMES.. All the names for the state of Maine since BDN is Maine News…
The only names you will get are the ones who were convicted, from the info I have seen so far. You can need alot. You may inadvertantly get the names of victims if you press too far. Is that what you want?
The victims have been through way to much as it is. If the list cannot help convict,then it should be left alone. Sorry to hear what happened to you.
The list is the on internet. It’s 138 pages long. It’s goes back quite a few years.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Lists like these are nothing more than a tool for excusing poor parenting. They make parents feel like they are doing something to protect their children; instead of investing the time to talk to their kids and be involved in their lives. Know the adults that have access to your child.
Bingo! You are dead on. If I had a nickel for every time I told someone in my family to not leave their kids with Uncle so-and-so, I’d have the money to help defend children who have been abused. I can never forgive the pedophile for attempting to abuse me, but even more difficult is to forgive the family members who refused to believe me when I told them.
i am sure rev carlson will be on that list
doubt it
Bangor Daily News, You may want to look at the info about Harold Bailey again. I think he was let go from the Boyscouts in 1978 and not 1988.
It is awful to see the comment “Alleged Homosexual Conduct”. He molested us. He was convicted.
Non sequitur. Your “facts” are uncoordinated.
For him to be high up in my school makes me wonder what he has to say about bullying and all the issues we are having rate now
I was never molested being a Boy Scout. We did our camping etc. But I did hear our scoutmaster as kids had done bad things in later years. Anyone that harms a kid is VERY wrong and deserves a very harsh punishment.
This is perhaps one of the saddest things I have ever read. I had great memories of Scouting. Sorry to all the youngsters that might not have had such great memories.
” “You know, I’ll just tell you that it’s a little surprising to me that people are making this such an issue,” Lee said Friday.”
Ever heard the expression tip of the iceberg. If they have this many for sure just think how many went undisclosed, undetected, or just dismissed. Never been a scout myself and never felt I missed anything, however after this report I guess maybe I did miss something……… something very unpleasant.
it’s appalling the way Lee just shrugs his shoulders. Sex abuse is horrible….I know. And Lee is ignorant and obviously has no clue, compassion or empathy!
My inital post will not show as I expected. Too many 4 letter words and exclamation points.
How do you go from people expressing outrage about Boy Scout officials engaged in unlawful behavior to liberals and the killing of unborn children? Either I missed a step in your logic or perhaps you are one of these sexual offenders trying to take the focus off this story. And that’s all I have to say about that.
I was wondering the same thing…
Sort of off topic but relevant. Wondering if there are problems within the Girl Scouts.
Considering that Lee made this statement “They do more in Scouting than we do in public schools,” said Lee, who
is also Brewer’s school superintendent. “That’s why it’s so sad to see
this,” I think the Brewer Board of Education needs to look at what their school department has for guidelines to protect the children.
I’d like to comment about this issue but on a broader scale; one that seems to get lost in these discussions. We tend to forget that the pleasure we as humans derive from sex has been proven to equal or surpass what some drugs, both legal and illegal bring into our brains. The feeling is brief; only seconds but some (not all humans) want more and want it often. If you take time to read up on the chemistry of the brain with a focus on pleasure and how the electrical impulses fire like crazy during sex, none of what goes on should surprise anyone. Daily we read about young girls, young boys, adult women and adult men being raped, used and abused. Why? Because for some, they will risk jail and a ruined life for those few seconds of extreme pleasure. It’s not just the Bob Carlson’s, Priests, and men in our Congress and Senate. It can be Judges, Doctors, lawyers, police officers or that friendly guy next door. There is not a law written that will prevent this from happening again and again. The sexual impulse for many is just too strong. While many may not want to see what is out there on the Internet, a few well thought out search words will give you a clue on just how perverse and wide spread this problem is. There are thousands and thousands of full length video’s and even more still photos of what is going on in the world of sex. Unfortunately, these things feed the fire and in some cases result in people crossing the line. There is no easy answer.
Sexual abuse is not a sex crime. It is about control, power, and dominance not sexual gratification.
You had had better read the Maine Criminal Code.. Title 17 and the criminal code of other states on sexual abuse.
If you look at the list and the map there are two locals on the list, one from brewer in the 90ies and one from orono. We all need to know who these people are and find out the truths behind the boys scouts cover-up. Lets find out who is being protected….I am guessing that we wont be suprised and that uncovering the names may help others moving forward……..
Yeah THAT will fix the BSA and the catholic church pedophiles. Try again.
I have lost ALL respect for this organization. I have a 12 year old who just decided this year to be done and it couldn’t have come sooner. I am SURE that in ALL of these cases the abuser was homosexual too…you know then we can justify that disgusting discrimination too. Boy scouts needs to go away. I will never so much as eat another piece of popcorn from that tainted organization again. They promote hate and they don’t protect the boys where it’s important. Shame on you Boy Scouts!!!!
Most pedophiles are gay
An especially pernicious myth is that most adults who sexually abuse children are gay. A number of researchers have looked at this question to determine if homosexuals are more likely to be pedophiles than heterosexuals, and the data indicate that’s not the case.For example, in a 1989 study led by Kurt Freund of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Canada, scientists showed pictures of children to adult gay and straight males, and measured sexual arousal. Homosexual men reacted no more strongly to pictures of male children than heterosexual men reacted to pictures of female children.A 1994 study, led by Carole Jenny of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, surveyed 269 cases of children who were sexually molested by adults. In 82 percent of cases, the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child, the researchers reported in the journal Pediatrics. In only two out of 269 cases, the offender was identified as being gay or lesbian.”The empirical research does not show that gay or bisexual men are any more likely than heterosexual men to molest children,” wrote Gregory M. Herek, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, on his website. Herek, who was not involved in the 1989 or 1994 studies, compiled a review of research on the topic.
That’s an absurd comment, that you are “SURE that ALL of these cases the abuser was homosexual too…” unless you were being sarcastic. Did you not read any of the cases? MANY of the men were married, generally indicating they are heterosexual. Pedophilia is different from homosexuality, just in case you weren’t aware of that. Read on below…
I’ve never been in the Boy Scouts or had anything to do with them. I’ve no particular interest in defending them. However, it seems that the Boy Scouts keeping records of sex offenders, blacklisting those that are, and banning them from the Scouts is a good thing. If they’ve attempted to cover up sexual predation in their ranks, which seems to be the case, then their image is more than tarnished: It is ruined.
http://spreadsheets.latimes.com/boyscouts-cases/
If Lee doesn’t see that the “issue” is the safety of little boys from predators, than his thinking is warped and he has had no business being involved with the Boy Scouts at all.
or with any schools, educational facilities, any place that is “suppose” to be leading, guiding and nuturing children.
If you read the article you will see that he is responding to the controversy that the BSA kept a list of names. He certainly did not say that we should not keep children safe from predators.
The BSA has done wonderful things for many, many boys over the years. The only reason this is being made such a huge deal is because of their refusal to accept queers.
you are kidding right ?
I find it quite sad that people still live under the delusion that bad things, such as this, can’t possibly happen here in Maine. Horrible people are everywhere, even here.
If the Boy Scouts want to survive it needs to reform. The organization still celebrates Baden Powell as its founder, a once celebrated figure , who we now know was a racist, an unapologetic advocate of British imperialism and a fringe fascist. It would be much better to look at Ernest Thompson Seton, the founder of the American Boy Scouts, who was greatly inspired by Native Americans and whose work was mostly co-0pted by Powell. Scouting has done much good for children all around the world for more than a century but it must become much more transparent in its actions and more open to new ideas.
I seem to remember a Gene Graves that adds conservative posts here occasionally. I wonder if he is the same guy as mentioned in this article.
Anytime someone is found to abuse/molest children and records are kept, the perps banned from serving, this is a very good thing. The only thing that can come from sheltering the abusers/perps is more abuse and children deserve better than that from their role models. I’m shocked by Daniel Lee’s statement and will contact him directly about that. Thankfully I have no children in his district but I have met him a couple of times and thought him reasonable. Clearly I was mistaken, what a shame that he holds this view. Abuse in any form is an issue for the damage it causes the targets and those who love them. Violation of other’s is wrong.
“You know, I’ll just tell you that it’s a little surprising to me that people are making this such an issue,” Lee said Friday.
Is HE on the list?
…. your comment is baseless!! your dead wrong on that comment!!! ignorance overrides stupidity Reply to Barb Summer!!!
id