Sometimes while being choked in my cot, I would only be partially unconscious and other times completely …. In order to keep me quiet, or perhaps because he got a thrill from controlling people, he began to shove my face in the pillow. "If it was late at night or early in the morning, he would not hesitate to rape me.
Over time, Sheehan changed, becoming more violent, he writes. View Gallery: Photos: Former Boy Scout recounts alleged sexual abuse at Camp Miles in Florida More: William Sheehan's path from Massachusetts to Southwest Florida It was exciting to be away from home, living in the literal wilderness …. "The variety of educational experiences was intoxicating and exotic, offering things I could never accomplish at home, I loved getting to work the ropes course and having a cabin by the older boys. “My happiness was juxtaposed by my profound sorrow,” he writes of the years at Camp Miles. Like his older brother, he wanted to become an Eagle Scout, and eventually did. I was frightened that no one would believe me if I came forward and that was a chance I was unwilling to take,” he writes. “I was still too scared and ashamed to tell them the truth.
“… That my shameful secrets should remain undiscovered from my friends and classmates was my greatest preoccupation.”Īs for telling his parents, who knew he was hurting but not why: “ … I felt as if my shame and guilt were plain for all to see. Was I gay? I was confused about everything. Men typically wait 20 years or more before disclosing they were sexually abused, according to social science research, and boys are less likely than girls to discuss their experiences. I took what he told me to heart, vowing inside to keep it closely guarded." “If I exposed him, everyone would discover what happened, that I had caused it and that I enjoyed it. “I endured these things in silence, knowing they were wrong, but not knowing what to do,” Averhart writes. The delayed revelations of thousands of former Boy Scouts across the country suggest his silence is not unique. Many people have asked Averhart why he returned to Camp Miles after that first summer, he says, and why he told no one. When I said yes in excitement, he assured me he would make it so.”Īnd: Who was William Sheehan? Teacher, Boy Scout leader, alleged predator Although I was officially too young he informed me, … he could pull some strings to make it happen. He talked to me about staying and becoming a staff member for the remainder of the summer, which I was greatly interested in. He soon took a liking to me and brought me under his wing. “Everyone called him ‘Uncle Bill,” Averhart writes, “and he seemed loved and respected by scouts and leaders alike. He hopes the book will help others break their silence and begin to heal, he says. It took him two years to pour his Camp Miles experiences onto the book’s pages, at times in graphic detail, as if by conjuring his abuser he might exorcise Sheehan’s power over him once and for all. Since 1998, almost 50 from that town have alleged the scout leader raped and molested them, too.Īverhart found their stories on the internet in 2016 and reached out, overwhelmed by the discovery he was not alone. Only now, he says, at age 45, is he able to give a name to what happened to him and talk about it openly a process helped by discovering other men in Foxborough, Massachusetts where Sheehan came from. It made me sick.' Dozens accuse ex-Boy Scout leader of sex abuse. Read more of Aaron's story: 'It was hush, hush.