- A new lawsuit accuses Maine Special Olympics founder Melvin “Mickey” Boutilier of grooming and sexually abusing 65-year-old Mark Frank over a 20-year period starting when he was 9 years old. ing.
- Frank was able to sue over the alleged abuse by Boutilier, who died in 2012, under the relaxed statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases.
- Officials with Special Olympics International and Special Olympics Maine expressed “shock and sadness” at the allegations and said such acts of betrayal “tear at the very foundation of the movement.”
The founder of Special Olympics Maine allegedly groomed a 9-year-old boy for sexual abuse over a 20-year period, during which he encouraged the victim to accompany him on business trips, offered him employment, and threatened him to keep quiet. , a report said. Lawsuit.
Although the plaintiff was not a Special Olympics athlete, the organization is aware of Melvin “Mickey” Boutilier’s history of abuse after he helped found Special Olympics Maine and believes he should be stopped. claims that it was.
Special Olympics International and Maine Special Olympics said officials were “shocked and saddened” by the allegations and said the breach of trust by organization officials “tear to the very foundation of the movement.”
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“We take these allegations very seriously and are currently investigating them. Time does not make them any less serious,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
Boutilier passed away in 2012 at the age of 83, and his sister also passed away in 2022. Boutilier’s granddaughter, who worked for Special Olympics, did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Boutilier’s behalf.
The late Special Olympics Maine founder is accused of prolonged grooming and child sexual abuse in a new lawsuit.
Mark Frank, 65, of Augusta, Maine, was allowed to file a lawsuit after the Maine Legislature relaxed the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits for childhood sexual abuse. The legislation authorized dozens of new lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, summer camps and other organizations.
In a lawsuit filed last month, Frank said he met Boutilier in 1967, when he was 9 years old, while he coached the Boot Bombers basketball team in Gorham, Maine. That was two years before the special education teacher held the first Special Olympics competition in Maine, and seven years before he was honored as “Maine Teacher of the Year.”
Frank says in his lawsuit that Boutilier threw pizza parties for team members, gradually singled him out, introduced him to pornography and alcohol, and sexually abused him when he was 11 years old. Frank says in the lawsuit that the abuse continued even after Maine Special Olympics officially opened. Incorporated in 1973, Frank regularly accompanied Boutilier on his business trips.
The Associated Press typically does not publish the names of people who say they were sexually assaulted unless, like Frank, they agree to be identified. Frank could not be reached for comment Friday.
Attorney Michael Bigos said Ms. Frank had been abused by Mr. Boutilier “dozens, if not hundreds of times.” Frank’s lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says he suffered debilitating psychological injuries and permanent psychological damage.
“At that time, organizations with access to and control over children, especially vulnerable children, were well aware of the risks posed by perpetrators of sexual abuse. “We believe they were negligent, failed to provide proper training, and failed to prevent the known risks of child sexual abuse,” Bigos said.
Ms Bigos encouraged people who may have been abused to come forward. But he said Friday that he did not know if there were other victims.
According to his obituary, Mr. Boutilier was an Army veteran who served in Korea before returning to Maine to teach at Bridgeton and Gorham, Maine, and Groveton, New Hampshire. He spent his summers working at Camp Waban, a day camp for children with intellectual disabilities, which led him to a career path as a special education teacher.
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While teaching at Gorham, Boutilier led a group of special education students to participate in the first Special Olympics, founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. His experience at Chicago’s Soldiers Field inspired Boutilier to start the first Special Olympics Main Tournament. He then organized the nation’s first Winter Special Olympics in Maine.
