Mitchell Garabedian, the attorney for scores of sexual abuse victims of Catholic Priests, sees institutional similarities between the response of the Church and the Patrick Administration to charges of sexual abuse of a minor. In an emailed statement Garabedian outlined the similarities.
In 2008 Patrick administration official Carl Stanley McGee was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a fifteen year old minor boy in a steam room in Florida. The prosecutor declined to prosecute based on not being assured a conviction at trial. McGee was allowed to return to work after a so called "review" of the allegations against him. According to multiple media reports, in the Boston Globe and Cape Cod Times, that review was not independent and relied on news clippings, McGee's word, and the fact that charges were not filed. McGee has consistently professed his innocence publicly.
The lack of independent review is what Garabedian zeroed in on in comparing the institutional responses. Garabedian said, "Any investigation of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor must be truly independent. The investigation must be truly independent in order to avoid personal and institutional bias. I have seen many kangaroo courts and so called independent investigators created with goals which are only meant to favor the accused person and institution. There is no room for spin control in an investigation concerning the sexual abuse of a minor."
Garabedian also faulted the Gaming Commission for not doing an independent investigation. Emails obtained by Red Mass Group show that the gaming commission relied primarily on the faulty virtually non-existent review by the Patrick Administration, and talking with McGee. No independent investigation was performed.
Garabedian continued, "Given the reports related to the hiring of Mr. McGee, I am sure many victims of child sexual abuse are wondering why a more thorough background check of Carl Stanley McGee did not take place before he was hired as interim Executive Director and since this matter has erupted, why new screening procedures have not been put in place to prevent a sexual abuser of a minor from being hired by the government."
The Patrick administration still defended their handling of the McGee situation as late as a Friday Boston Globe article. Where a Patrick spokesman said:
"It's not our thing to raise Stan's history," he said, adding that the administration supported McGee, so "why would we raise Stan's past?"
The response came after the administration had learned that a civil settlement was reached with the boy, and that Florida's Top Child Crime Cop, Special Agent Terry Thomas of the FDLE, continued to recommend prosecution of McGee for the alleged non-consensual pederasty.
That response is seemingly the whole problem. Whether it be in Cardinal Bernard Law's response to allegations of sexual assault, Joe Paterno's or Deval Patrick's. They knew the accuser and declined to do truly independent reviews. In doing so they ran the risk of putting more people in danger.
