By Tim Rohr
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In the case of Michael Ehlert, the disgraced psychology teacher at the University of Guam, it was reported that over 100 letters were used in the sentencing process. I would like to know who wrote letters for this guy who was sexually abusing his students.
If these people work at UOG, I want to make sure they know about the students who testified on the witness stand that they had been forcibly raped or sexually abused by Michael Ehlert. The PDN had news stories on this point, yet no member of the public can know who at UOG continued to support Michael Ehlert after his conviction.
Along similar lines, where were the follow-up legislative hearings about the Ehlert case? Where was the effort to reach out to these victims and help them?
Many years ago, I was asked to do a victimology estimate on child sex abuse cases in churches. My estimate was over 200 victims and no one believed me. How many victims were at UOG between 1999 and 2018? Hold a hearing and I will provide the estimate.
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McNinch's comments lead me on two tracks. So let us take one at a time. I'll do the first one first, which is the Elhert episode.
I knew Mike Elhert, briefly.
In or around 2001-2002, I was the interim conductor for Cantate Guam, a magnificent choral group whose performances surpassed anything that could have logically emanated from somewhere so remote as Guam - but they did.
If I remember right, Mike was in the baritone section - along with my then 17 year-old son (Timmy) when we rehearsed and performed Handel's Messiah for Christmas 2002 - performances which were cut short by Typhoon Pongsana on December 8 of that year.
I liked Mike, as I pretty much did everybody in Cantate, and I would meet Mike - from time to time - away from Cantate. I believe he was a "paddler" - as was I during those years.
Of course I was sad to hear of what Mike was accused of sometime later.
I have no reason to doubt the accusations against Mike except for the fact that I was accused of nearly the same not long after, and not by just some students at some wild late night college party, but some of my own adult children.
While I do know that the accusations against me by own children were false - and I was able to somewhat prove that - I don't know if the accusations against Mike were false.
What I do know is that whatever the accusations were, Mike imperiled himself by allowing what we used to call "a good time," to become what can now be labeled "a compromising situation" and/or "sexual harassment, or even "rape," if there's no one to testify against it...or even if there is.
Not so long ago, such "situations" would have been just "good times." But not now. And the misjudgment of "the times" appears to have been Mike's real error.
In my own case, there was no "misjudgment" of anything. There were simply absolute lies in the context of an ugly divorce.
Ultimately I "prevailed" - though "prevailed" is still a very sad word - something I may elaborate on in a future post.
"Many years ago, I was asked to do a victimology estimate on child sex abuse cases in churches. My estimate was over 200 victims and no one believed me. How many victims were at UOG between 1999 and 2018? Hold a hearing and I will provide the estimate."
Given that Professor McNinch has not (from what I can tell) had to pay much of a public price for coming forward with actual names, accusations, and numbers, my questions are:
(1) just how many "years ago" was Prof. McNinch "asked to do a victimology estimate on child sex abuse cases in the churches;"
(2) which "churches" were those?;
(3) exactly what does Prof. McNinch mean by "child?" - are we talking real children (clinically pre-pubescent) or simply biological adults who are days shy of year 18?; and
(4) just WHO didn't "believe" him?
As this blog will demonstrate, at least by 2014, all Hell broke loose about the decades of sexual abuse of minors by Guam's clergy.
People, many people, including myself, but especially the now deceased John Toves, were publicly trampled on, threatened, and demeaned into archdiocesan gutters for "coming forward," against the august and then-all powerful Anthony S. Apuron.
And we might all have rotted in those gutters but for the 54 weeks of unprecedented pickets in front of the Agana Cathedral organized by Lou K. and her "Laity Forward Movement," functionally a small cadre of "old CHamoru ladies" who were "mad as hell" and weren't "going to take it anymore!"
I'll stop here. For now.
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