PORTLAND (ME)
Bangor Daily News [Bangor ME]
March 29, 2024
By Christopher Burns
The founder of Special Olympics Maine spent years sexually assaulting a child beginning in the late 1960s, according to a new lawsuit.
Mark Frank, 65, of Augusta filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court against Special Olympics Maine and Special Olympics Inc., based in Washington, D.C., the Portland Press Herald reported.
The lawsuit alleges the organizations should have been aware of the abuse and stepped in to protect Frank, who said he was sexually abused by Melvin Boutilier “dozens, if not hundreds” of times, according to the Press Herald.
The Special Olympics organizations told the Press Herald that they are “shocked and saddened” by the allegations, saying such behavior has never been tolerated within the Special Olympics.
Boutilier, who died in 2012 at age 83, was long celebrated for his work as an educator and volunteer with organizations serving children with intellectual disabilities. He was awarded the highest honor presented by Special Olympics Inc., among other accolades.
But the lawsuit filed by Frank alleges a darker underside to Boutilier, who began grooming Frank in 1967 when he was 9 years old and played on Boutilier’s basketball team through the Gorham Recreation Department.
When Frank turned 11 years old, Boutilier would give him alcohol and sexually assault him. The sexual abuse continued throughout Frank’s childhood and into his mid- to late 20s. Boutilier assaulted him at Boutilier’s home and at Special Olympics events across North America, according to the Press Herald.
The lawsuit alleges that Boutilier threatened and intimidated Frank to keep him from revealing the sexual abuse, the Press Herald reported.
Frank’s lawsuit is the latest to move ahead under a 2021 Maine law removing the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. That prompted a wave of lawsuits against organizations like the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and even the Bangor YMCA alleging that they shielded abusers or failed to protect their victims.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Boutilier was named Maine Teacher of the Year. He was not.