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	Guest Opinion: Camp Good News, Many Unanswered Questions By Joseph DiPietro Taunton Daily Gazette April 9, 2011 http://www.tauntongazette.com/state_news/x481362883/GUEST-OPINION-Camp-Good-News-many-unanswered-questions Senator Scott Brown revealed that a camp counselor at a camp believed to be Camp Good News sexually abused him when he was just 10 years old, threatening to kill him if he told anyone. Camp Good News was suspect for good reason. In 2002, former Good News counselor Charles Lewis filed a report with the Sandwich Police Department stating he had repeatedly found child pornography on the computer of one of the camp’s other workers. Lewis, who worked at the camp from 1991 until 1999, said he had reported his finding to the camp’s former director, Faith Willard, but little came of it. According to Lewis, when Sandwich police questioned Willard, she told them that she had thrown away the disc on which the pornography had been stored. Lewis said the employee about whom he made his complaint continues to work at the camp. The employee was Charles Devita, a Camp Good News employee accused of molesting a 10-year-old boy. Devita apparently killed himself on Wednesday with a single gunshot in his pickup truck as police began investigating allegations of his action 26 years ago. Two of the victims who came forward named Devita as their alleged abuser. A third person named another camp employee. Devita had a history of pedophilia and was fired in 2002 from his job at Sandwich Community School for allegations of child pornography. He was never charged, but school officials found the allegations credible enough to terminate him immediately. Sandra Devita, Chuck Devita’s mother, says she tried to warn camp leaders about suspicions her son was a pedophile stating, “She had suspicion, and couldn’t put her finger on anything in particular, that it was the whole general pattern of his behavior.” She talked to the camp director Faith (Willard) and they kind of just blew it off. Another troubling aspect of this situation is the fact that the majority of Camp Good News’s leadership is comprised of physicians, and under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act passed in 1974 they are required to report suspected child abuse. According to reports, instead of reporting the suspected abuse supervisors allegedly turned a blind eye, leaving children vulnerable to fall victim to at least 3 alleged child predators. This clear disregard for child safety leaves many unanswered questions. One of the most pressing questions are what steps did the camp take to protect children after allegations of sexual impropriety? Did leadership monitor their computer systems? How many children passed through the Camp since 1999? How many reports of abuse have been filed since the camps existence? And why did they allow Devita to remain employed after allegations of child porn. Enrollment for summer camp is coming upon us and we need answers now. Camp Good News is quickly turning into Camp “Bad” News. Before the camp reopens, a thorough investigation should be completed. Joseph DiPietro is President of Protect Mass Children, a federally recognized 501C(4) non-profit organization committed to protecting the children of Massachusetts from sex offenders through education and legislation.
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