By: Scott Brinton
"There have been some students who have come forward" since the February school board meeting, Caramore said. At that session, the mothers of the three sodomy victims spoke out, detailing a pattern of repeated sexual and physical abuse during a five-day football training camp in Pennsylvania last August.
In September, the mothers said, seven witnesses offered written statements to district officials about what happened at the camp. The mothers wondered why, with such testimony, the district has been unable to suspend a fourth alleged assailant, whom Pennsylvania authorities recently arrested.
Pennsylvania police have not revealed what the young man may have been charged with -- or even that he was arrested -- because he is a minor. Reports of his arrest came from sources close to the case.
Caramore said previously that the district has no independent knowledge of the arrest, or any witnesses' accounts of a possible fourth perpetrator.
That may soon change, however. New witnesses have expressed a willingness to talk. Caramore noted that they haven't yet spoken with school officials, but he expected them to within days.
"We're trying to do anything we can to get kids to come forward," the superintendent said. But, he noted, "We don't have any vehicle to make someone talk to us."
Also, for the first time last Wednesday, Caramore offered a glimpse into Bellmore-Merrick school officials' investigation of the sex attacks.
The probe has been ongoing, Caramore had said during previous Board of Education meetings. But he had never revealed the investigation's details.
After repeated questions from Bellmore-Merrick Parents for Change members, Caramore said three or four officials have acted as the Central District's primary investigators. They include the district's lawyer, a former Suffolk County assistant district attorney, Bellmore-Merrick's athletic director, Saul Lerner, and at times Mepham Principal John Didden and an assistant principal.
Caramore explained why neither he nor the Board of Education could take part in the investigation. If a superintendent's hearing is called to suspend a perpetrator, he cannot act as both judge and prosecutor, which he would become if he investigated the case. According to education law, he must always be the judge during a superintendent's hearing. The Board of Education hears any appeals of the superintendent's decisions, so it, too, must remain neutral, barring it from participating in the district's probe.
Debra Elkin, of Merrick, asked more than once why Central District officials haven't punished the entire football team more aggressively for the attacks. She noted that football players have been allowed to take part in other sports, even though the district cancelled their season last fall. She believes the football squad shouldn't be allowed to play other sports.
"You have to send a clear message," said Elkin, who now serves on the Central District's character-education committee. "Students are not coming forward."
Caramore said he could not punish the entire football team because not all squad members were guilty of the crime. And the superintendent noted that he believes there were football players would did not know about the attacks and only learned of them when they returned home from camp.
The superintendent referred to the Bellmore and Merrick Heralds' front-page story of Dec. 11, "Crucifying Mepham," when he said a local newspaper recently reported that roughly 30 players at the camp may not have known about the attacks. "If that's accurate," Caramore said, "half the kids didn't know about it."
The superintendent also said he does not subscribe to the old-school disciplinary measure that punishes an entire team for the actions of a few.
Set in a shaded box:
Head coach apologizes
John Van Name, of North Merrick, recently formed Concerned Parents for Educational Excellence to get the five Mepham High School football coaches, who the Central District dismissed, reinstated to their posts. At last Wednesday's Board of Education meeting, Van Name read a statement from head coach Kevin McElroy. It included an apology to the victims and their families.
The relative of one victim said the apology came too late, so now it rings hollow.
The following are excerpts from McElroy's statement:
The events of last August have affected every member of this community. We have three victims who have been severely injured and traumatized. I relive that terrible week every day. I will carry that burden with me for the rest of my life. I still search for the clues and signs that something was amiss, but my search is fruitless...
I have had troublesome students on my football team in the past, and I have worked with them, encouraged them, and helped them graduate and become productive members of society. Playing football or any other sports is often the impetus for some students to remain in school and graduate. I would never have taken a student on my team if I felt that I couldn't control him.
As an educator, I believe in the philosophy that we should do what's best for the kids. Going to camp was one of those extra things. We were not paid extra salary to give up five days away from our families. This alone tells you of our dedication to the athletes at Mepham High School.
A student [one of the perpetrators] who possessed tremendous potential betrayed my trust. I never imagined that he would become part of a vicious gang that preyed on my youngest players. I was totally unaware of the heinous crimes that were committed at camp. These events could never have occurred with only one perpetrator. Hindsight can easily say that I should have known, but foresight says you can't expect someone to betray your trust. To reach the conclusion that I should have known, I would have to assume that all students are readily capable of committing egregious acts, and I cannot accept that philosophy...
I wish to state to the school board and superintendent that you have punished my fellow coaches unfairly. I was in charge of the camp. I put together the dorm assignments. No one could have foreseen the sadistic acts that took place. We had put our trust in the wrong people...
I cannot undo what happened at football camp, and I know that my apology to the victims and their families cannot relieve their pain and suffering. Yet, I still must offer the victims, their families and members of the community my sincerest apology.
-- Kevin McElroy
