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Officials: Suicide victim at Cape Cod camp was employee accused of abuse

Print Posted by Martin Finucane April 6, 2011 07:57 PM

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Jonathan Wiggs / Globe Staff

The entrance to the Cape Cod camp.

By Shelley Murphy, John R. Ellement, and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

SANDWICH – An employee of a Christian summer camp on Cape Cod shot himself to death today just days after he became the focus of a criminal investigation into allegations that he sexually abused a camper during the 1980s, officials said.

In a joint statement released this afternoon, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe and Sandwich Police Chief Peter Wack said the man was dead when he was found near his vehicle on the grounds of Camp Good News this morning. The camp is the same one that apologized recently to US Senator Scott Brown for potential abuse he may have suffered there four decades ago.

Officials said in their statement that the man found today was "the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. This individual, an employee of Camp Good News, was the subject of a recent allegation of abuse of a child. The allegation was of an historical nature.’’

The dead man's name was not released by authorities. But Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents a former camper who brought a sex abuse allegation to prosecutors on Monday, said the employee was his client's alleged abuser: Charles "Chuck" Devita, 43, who is listed on the camp's website as part of the leadership team and director of the physical plant.

Devita left behind notes insisting "that he never did anything being alleged and was, indeed, sick of being accused,'' according to a law enforcement official.

Brown said in his autobiography, which was released in February, that he was sexually abused at a Christian camp on the Cape as a child. Brown has not identified the specific camp. However, Camp Good News subsequently acknowledged Brown was a camper there and issued an apology to him.

After today's events, the camp issued a statement, saying,"The Camp Good News family is deeply saddened by the loss of our long time employee. Our heartfelt prayers are with Chuck's family."

The Globe reported Tuesday that Cape prosecutors were reviewing a series of concerns that had been raised about the camp after Brown's revelations, including the report from Garabedian's client, who said he was repeatedly molested there when he was 10 years old, in the mid-1980s.

A spokeswoman for Brown emphasized this afternoon that he had never met Devita. Brown is 51 and his allegations of being molested date to around 1970, when Devita would have been a baby.

Speaking this afternoon on WRKO-AM radio, Brown told interviewer Howie Carr that he did not know anything about the case.

He also held fast to his vow not to publicly identify the camp where he was abused and would not identify the man who he says molested him. “I am not going to confirm I went to that camp,’’ he said. “I am not out to settle any scores.’’

When pressed by Carr, Brown agreed that pedophiles are likely to continue to offend. But Brown again said he would not identify his attacker. He also said the allegations of sexual abuse at the camp in the 1980s "had nothing to do with me.''

“I have no evidence at all, Number One, that the person who did it to me 42 years ago is even alive, and and Number Two, that he is even doing it again,’’ Brown said. He added that if he had information that his abuser was assaulting new victims, he would cooperate with authorities.

Carr asked Brown if he felt guilty about today’s suicide or if he felt guilty for not sharing his knowledge with law enforcement.

“I’m the victim,’’ Brown replied. “I’ve felt guilty long enough. It’s taken me 42 years to come forward.’’

Garabedian also revealed today that two more former campers contacted him today claiming to have been sexually molested by Devita years ago. And Garabedian said a third man called him claiming to have been sexually molested as a child by another employee at the camp.

After learning of Devita's suicide, Garabedian said, "It's a sad situation. My client is feeling a lot of emotions right now and he's saddened by the circumstances.''

Just as Devita's death will not stop the district attorney's criminal investigation into the camp, it will also not prevent alleged victims from pursuing civil claims, said Garabedian, who was one of the attorneys involved in suits against the Boston archdiocese for clergy sex abuse.

"I'm going to be conducting an investigation and if I can, I'll be filing a civil suit,'' Garabedian said. "There were red flags here. ... What did the supervisors know and what did they do about what they learned?"

Garabedian said the former camper whose allegations against Devita were referred to O'Keefe's office on Monday had been scheduled to meet with investigators this week.

The secretary at the tan-colored camp office off a two-lane road had no comment this afternoon.

Akilah Johnson and Donovan Slack of the Globe staff contributed to this report.