Melrose YMCA president to resign after sex abuse charges against employee

By Travis Andersen
Town Correspondent

Richard Whitworth has announced his resignation as president of the Melrose YMCA, in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal that has enraged parents in the community north of Boston.

"Our community will not begin to heal as long as I am in charge of the Melrose YMCA," Whitworth, 58, told the board of directors in a statement posted Thursday to the YMCA website. He did not return messages seeking further comment.

The YMCA board said Whitworth's resignation would be effective Sept. 1. He has held the position since 1979.

Whitworth told the Globe last week that he had "no intention of resigning," citing families' continued interest in enrolling their children in after-school programs at the YMCA, even after a case of alleged child rape by one of his staffers came to light several months ago.

But in his statement, Whitworth said the outcry over an an "isolated, albeit deplorable, incident" had reached a level that would be harmful to the YMCA mission if he stayed on.

James Conner, 51, the former YMCA site coordinator of the after-school program, was arrested at his home Feb. 12. Conner was indicted on five counts of rape of a child by force, among other charges. Conner, of North Reading, is free on $25,000 cash bail but under monitoring by global positioning system.

After the arrest, an investigation by the state Department of Early Education and Care found that Melrose YMCA administrators "failed to protect children from abuse."

The state report found that YMCA administrators hired Conner after learning of allegations of inappropriate behavior at other facilities.

They also kept him on staff last year, after he signed an agreement to stay away from a girl who attended the Melrose program, according to the report. Prosecutors allege Conner sexually abused the same young girl as she rode with him in the back of the bus to the after-school program.

Karen Dauteuil, who was Conner's direct boss, has been laid off. The 25-page state report says that, "The program's senior-level administrators and certain of its staff members disregarded and/or failed to report information that should have caused the programs' senior administrators, at a minimum, to conduct inquiries into the actions of the accused staff member."

The Melrose Free Press, a weekly newspaper, called for the resignation of Whitworth and YMCA vice president Nancy Madden in an editorial last week, after local bloggers had demanded the same. Earlier this week, Doug Bailey, the spokesman for the Melrose YMCA, dismissed calls for Whitworth to resign.

Madden did not return messages seeking comment, but Bailey said that she planned to stay on.

Patricia Wright, a local attorney and former YMCA fundraiser, had announced plans to organize a protest outside the office of YMCA board chairwoman Mary Sexton, to demand the ouster of Whitworth and Madden.

Wright did not return calls on Thursday, but told the Globe last week that efforts to change the YMCA leadership would face stiff resistance from local politicians and business leaders.

"They're all in bed together," she said.

Mayor Robert Dolan did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Sexton, reached by phone Thursday, first told a Globe reporter to call back in a half hour. An assistant later referred questions to Bailey.

Bailey said that Whitworth, who informed the board of his decision at a meeting on Wednesday, was not pressured by board members to step down. Instead, he said that he'd help the YMCA by leaving, and the board agreed.

"I don't think it was an agreement they particularly appreciated or liked," Bailey said.

Bailey said it was unknown what Whitworth would do in September, though he is eligible for retirement. Details of his pension package won't be available until the YMCA files updated financial reports, possibly in the fall. The organization is awaiting the results of an independent audit.

"It's just the usual audit, but for some reason, they wanted to take more time with it," Bailey said.

Bailey said the board's choice for a new YMCA president - as well as the selection process - was unclear at this point.

Attempts to reach several board members were unsuccessful on Thursday, but one member, Ellen Connolly, had sharp words for a Globe reporter.

"I cannot speak to you," she said. "And I would never speak to you."

For previous coverage of the YMCA story, go to boston.com/melrose.