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	Records Allege Sex Abuse at Home for Troubled Boys The Associated Press, carried in The Seattle Times [Spokane WA] October 17, 2005 SPOKANE — Newly released documents reveal multiple allegations of sexual abuse at Morning Star Boys' Ranch in the past quarter-century and indicate that assaults have continued in recent years. State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) records obtained by The Spokesman-Review newspaper include five allegations of sexually inappropriate interactions between boys and adults associated with the Catholic home for troubled boys in the past decade. The 871 pages of documents, released in response to a public-records request by the newspaper, also include several accounts of molestation and rape among the residents from 1978 to this year. Although the state edited the documents to protect the names of the boys and some adults, the reports provide the most comprehensive documented account of life inside Morning Star, which has been shaken in recent months by allegations of physical and sexual assaults that date back decades. In addition to the allegations against adults, the documents include several accounts of violent or coerced sexual encounters among the boys. In one case, a boy said he learned to "just endure" the sexual attacks of an 18-year-old resident with a prior rape conviction. Morning Star officials said they would not comment on individual cases but insisted that the ranch has updated its policies to better protect boys, including offering residents locked single rooms and barring group showers. Dan Kuhlmann, assistant director of the Catholic boys home, said Morning Star has "always taken a strong position that when we become aware of a problem or situation, we report it." In a statement released Friday, Morning Star said: "All social-service organizations have some type of incident report; they are NOT unique to Morning Star. Reports are used to identify and solve problems and improve practices over time." The documents included allegations that: • In 1983, one resident held down a boy while another raped him. A Morning Star official told the Spokane County Sheriff's Office that the boys had been involved in several other sexual assaults. • In 1992, an 18-year-old resident whose psychological evaluation indicated he was "predatory" repeatedly raped a younger boy. The alleged perpetrator had a previous rape conviction and threatened the 15-year-old resident, who initially fought the older boy during the first three sexual encounters, but later "just endured it." The 15-year-old resident then began "victimizing younger children." • In 1996, Morning Star failed to properly report a resident's complaint that he had been fondled by a man during an overnight stay at the man's home. The boy's social worker and probation officer did not approve the visit, and Morning Star had not conducted a background check on the man. The boy's therapist expressed concerns that a Morning Star official "may have attempted to discourage [the resident] from prosecuting" the alleged perpetrator, a charge the official and the resident denied. • In 2000, a 17-year-old resident reported that a Morning Star leader sexually assaulted him on a camping trip in Idaho. The group leader, whose name was redacted from the records, resigned but apparently was not prosecuted. Though law enforcement investigated several incidents, it does not appear that any Morning Star staff members were ever criminally prosecuted.
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