HAMILTON TOWNSHIP - Campers' complaints that a Camp Butterworth counselor touched their breasts and buttocks did not warrant a criminal indictment, according to a Warren County grand jury report released Monday.
The grand jury considered 15 counts of gross sexual imposition against 19-year-old Namsembaeli Mduma. But jurors did not indict her or the camp managers who let her leave the Tristate before police could question the counselor.
Prosecutors also sought indictments for obstructing justice and failure to report child abuse or neglect against five Girl Scout employees affiliated with the camp in southern Warren County. Investigators criticized camp administrators for reporting the "uncomfortable touching" to police and county children's services agency nearly 11 hours after the campers' July 14 reports.
"I believe the Girl Scouts made a mistake in not reporting sooner to authorities," County ProsecutorTim Oliver said Monday, briefing reporters on results of the grand jury's deliberations Thursday. "I hope they give a much greater emphasis to training and recognition of these cases."
Mr. Oliver said 15 instances of Ms. Mduma's allegedly touching or rubbing campers - on their stomachs, breasts or buttocks - seriously concerned authorities. He declined to specify how many campers were involved but said investigators initially identified 11 girls - 10 and 11 years old - who said the counselor touched them inappropriately.
Several agencies, including Hamilton County Children's Services and the Ohio attorney general's office, collaborated on the investigation. It could have been condensed into "a matter of days" if campers and Ms. Mduma had not dispersed quickly from Camp Butterworth, Mr. Oliver said.
The counselor's absence left questions about her intent toward campers - with whom she would have had to receive or give sexual gratification to be criminally liable of the charges.
"It is clear that the inability to interview her had some effect on this case," said Mr. Oliver. He said he learned two weeks ago that Ms. Mduma boarded an international flight from New York two days after she left the camp.
The grand jury's finding validated the position that local Girl Scouts officials have reiterated for six weeks, said Barbara Bonifas, executive director of the Great Rivers Girl Scout Council. "We said all along . . . there was not sexual misconduct," Ms. Bonifas said. "The devastation that this has left the organization is more than you can imagine."
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The Girl Scouts immediately isolated campers from the counselor, Ms. Bonifas said, and respected the children's concerns. But suspecting no abuse, they followed procedures set by Camp Counselors USA, the California-based firm through which they hired Ms. Mduma, by sending her by bus to New York City.
"I hope that this restores the Girl Scouts to their good name," said Charles Rittgers, a Lebanon lawyer hired by Great Rivers. "It's a shame that it takes a lifetime to build up a good reputation, and an innuendo . . . can destroy that reputation."
The rulings outraged a Sycamore Township father who, along with his daughter, testified before the grand jury Thursday. The Enquirer is not identifying the father.
"I am so angry," he said, stunned by the decision. "Whether they could prove whether something was done for somebody's gratification doesn't matter. The fact is, something happened."
Previous stories
GIRL SCOUT LAWYER SEES ASSUMPTIONS IN SEX ABUSE CASE August 14, 1997
GRAND JURY TO GET CAMP ABUSE CASE August 13, 1997
GIRL SCOUTS FAILED GIRLS IN CAMP FIASCO Krista Ramsey column, July 26, 1997
GIRLS INTERVIEWS NEARLY OVER July 26, 1997
STATE INVESTIGATORS WILL AID ALLEGED ABUSE CASE July 19, 1997
GIRLS SAFE, CAMP TELLS PARENTS July 19, 1997
SCOUT LEADERS' POOR REACTION NO GOOD DEED Cliff Radel column, July 18, 1997
COUNSELOR RETURNING TO TANZANIA July 17, 1997
CAMP AIDE SUSPECTED OF ABUSE July 16, 1997
