Related: The State of Massachusetts is Sick
"Melrose YMCA executive resigns; Sex abuse case prompts shakeup" by Travis Andersen, Globe Correspondent | July 25, 2009
The vice president of the Melrose YMCA is resigning, the third official to leave the organization since a worker at its after-school program was arrested on child sexual abuse charges.
Nancy Madden is stepping down in October, members of the YMCA board announced yesterday. She follows longtime the Y’s president and chief executive Richard Whitworth, who announced his resignation last month, and Karen Dauteuil, vice president of childcare services.
A board member also disclosed that the national headquarters of the YMCA is closely involved in reorganizing the Melrose Y after an outpouring of community outrage over the case involving former employee James Conner.... Conner was arrested at his North Reading home on charges of assaulting two children who attended YMCA programs. At his arraignment on April 7, he pleaded not guilty to 20 charges, including five counts of rape of a child by force, according to the court’s criminal docket for the case.
The state Department of Early Education and Care, which licenses after-school programs at nonprofit organizations, reported in April that YMCA administrators hired Conner despite knowing of allegations of impropriety at other facilities and warning signs at the Melrose Y....
Why the vagueness? Since when did the Globe cover up pervert crimes?
FLASHBACK:
"Melrose residents seek YMCA officials' ouster; Behavior of worker accused of rape was ignored, state alleges" by Franci R. Ellement, Globe Correspondent | June 12, 2009
A group of incensed Melrose residents is demanding the resignation of two senior administrators at the city's YMCA after a state report alleged the officials repeatedly ignored the "red flag" behaviors of an after-school program employee for years before he was charged with the systematic sexual abuse of two girls.
The arrest of the employee and a scathing report by the state have galvanized angry parents and other community members, who are urging the YMCA to oust president Richard Whitworth and vice president Nancy Madden....
How would you feel?
I know how I do:
And if he "cuts" it off?
Of course, this guy doesn't have any inside help because they have never found that lady -- and likely never will.
The state report details the "red flags." When Dauteuil was hiring Conner in 2001, he told her he was terminated from the Andover YMCA for a misunderstanding caused when a child jumped into his lap. Two administrators also called Dauteuil and Madden, warning them Conner was terminated for "pretty serious" behavior. Other questions were raised at the Reading YMCA, where Conner had also worked. At the Andover YMCA, Conner was alleged to have slept next to a young girl on a sleepover and also would have the same girl sit on his lap during bus trips. Later, other allegations surfaced regarding a girl at the Melrose program as well.
The state report found that in 2008, many administrators - including Dauteuil, Madden, and Whitworth - required Conner to sign an agreement that he would stay away from the girl who attended the Melrose program. The district attorney's office alleges Conner sexually abused the same young girl as she rode with him in the back of the bus to the after-school program.
In a note to parents, Whitworth said: "It is also important from my perspective that only two children in the YMCA program are reported to have been abused. All the others in our care were safe from abuse."
He said with crossed fingers.
The explanations have not gone over well with some Melrose residents.
"Their abject negligence has ruined two lives and they should not be rewarded with jobs after what happened," said Patricia Wright, a Melrose attorney and resident organizing the protest.
Melrose resident Andrew White, who has three small children, is also appalled....
I think we all are.
--more--"Today:Though the YMCA has disputed the report, it infuriated many residents. Patricia Wright, a local lawyer, formed Melrose Cares, a group that launched an online petition last month demanding the immediate ouster of Whitworth and Madden. In a statement announcing the Madden resignation, the Melrose YMCA board said Whitworth will step down as soon as an interim executive is in place....
Oh, I see: he resigned but he's still there.
Pfft! I'm tired of the s*** deceptions by the MSM "journalists."
--more--"
