Ex-Episcopal Teacher Accused of 1981 Rapes of Child Campers

A 65-year-old Media man, who taught at Episcopal Academy for 20 years, was indicted Monday for allegedly sexually abusing four children in 1981 when he was youth camp counselor in Massachusetts.

Richard P. Smith was indicted by a Barnstable County, Mass. Grand Jury for rape of a child, indecent assault and battery and five counts of indecent assault and battery upon a child under the age of 14, according to a press release issued by Massachusetts District Attorney Michael O’Keefe.

Four former campers said the abuse took place in 1981 when Smith worked as a counselor at Camp Good News; at the time, the campers were between the ages of 11 and 15.

The charges are the result of a two-and-a-half-year investigation into abuse allegations involving nine potential perpetrators. Two of the alleged perpetrators have since died and others cannot be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations and other reasons, such as a lack of evidence, the DA said.

The investigation began after former Sen. Scott Brown wrote in a memoir that he had been molested at a Christian summer camp on Cape Cod in the 1970s, according to the Delaware County Daily Times. He did not name Smith as his abuser and also did not name the camp. However, Camp Good News later said Brown had attended there and apologized, according to the Delco Times.

Smith, who is also a 1966 graduate of Episcopal, taught at the school from 1970 to 1990, according to philly.com. However, he then worked in the development office until 1998.

"At this time we are working with local authorities and two attorneys who are experts in this field to determine if there was any inappropriate behavior between Mr. Smith and any of our students during his tenure at our school," Episcopal headmaster L. Hamilton Clark Jr. told philly.com.

Smith was arraigned and held on $10,000 cash bail. He is due back in court May 8 for appearance of counsel.