Prosecutors Probe More Allegations at Camp Where Sen. Scott Brown Says He Was Abused

The man who apparently killed himself at Camp Good News this morning was Charles R. Devita, a long-time camp employee who was under investigation by authorities after a complaint was filed this week about sexual abuse at the camp a generation ago.

Police and camp officials are not identifying the suicide victim but long-time camp volunteers Bob and Marilyn Werner arrived at the camp office early this afternoon to offer support and condolences to their friends and camp owners, the Willard family, on the death of Devita.

“He was talented and dedicated to the camp,” said Marilyn Werner. Devita, 43, has been associated with the camp since he was a camper himself, they said. “He did just about everything,” she said. “Chuck was really a giving person.”

Devita was the subject of a new investigation by the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office into a complaint about abuse of a 10-year-old boy at the camp 26 years ago, according to a source familiar with the complaint.

That complaint was filed Monday by attorney Mitchell Garabedian of Boston who told the Times on Tuesday that State Police had already begun the investigation. The district attorney’s office has not identified who made the complaint or its target.

Devita’s body was found today in his vehicle in a wooded area at the camp “an apparent victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” said Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe and Sandwich Police Chief Peter Wack in a press release that did not identify Devita by name.

Devita, 43, a longtime camp employee who served as director of the physical plant, shot himself to death as he sat in his pick-up truck outside the camp, according to authorities. He left behind a note saying he had done nothing wrong and was “sick of being accused,” according to a law enforcement official.

The Boston public relations firm hired by Camp Good News to represent it said it was preparing a statement in response to Globe inquiries about the new disclosure. Yesterday, the camp released a statement saying it was saddened by the loss of its longtime employee and “our heartfelt prayers are with Chuck’s family.”

In a telephone interview last night from her Florida home, Devita’s mother, Sandra Devita, said she suspected her son may have been molesting children when he was in his early 20s and brought her concerns to the camp’s former director, Faith Willard, who said nothing was amiss.

“They said they didn’t see anything going on, basically,” Devita told the Globe. “They were more afraid that he was gay than that he was molesting children.”

Garabedian said that the supervisors of the camp must explain why they didn’t notify police after Devita’s mother raised concerns about her son’s behavior. Sandra Devita said she recognized the signs of a possible molester because she was working at the time in a sexual abuse unit in New York City’s social services department.

“His own mother, who was also qualified to make a judgment, told the supervisor of Camp Good News,” Garabedian said. “What more evidence did they need to show that Chuck Devita was a pedophile?”