Five name college in sex abuse suit

Renowned ex-choral director at AU is accused

By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF



LANCASTER— A lawsuit has been filed in Worcester Superior Court against Atlantic Union College and its well-known former choral director and music professor, Francisco de Araujo, for allegedly sexually abusing four students and a consultant in 2005 and 2006.

The complaint, filed Jan. 30 by Boston lawyer Nance Lyons, also alleges that college officials not only ignored the men’s accusations but had them expelled and spread rumors and slander that made it difficult for them to get jobs.

The complaint also alleges that college employees and contractors who complained about the sexual abuse on behalf of the students were fired and that college officials were well aware of Mr. Araujo’s alleged previous history of predatory sexual behavior with students.



“Doe” is used for the last name for the five plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Ms. Lyons said yesterday.

Besides Mr. Araujo, who retired last summer, and the college, the complaint names former college president George P. Babcock and Donald G. King, president of the Lancaster-based Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, which oversees the Adventist college. Mr. King is chairman of the college’s board of trustees.

The complaint requests a jury trial for several counts against Mr. Araujo of sexual assault and battery, outrage, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligence, violation of civil rights, invasion of privacy and false imprisonment.

Phone messages left at Mr. Araujo’s home Thursday night and yesterday were not returned.

In a prepared statement Thursday, college President Norman L. Wendth said lawyers for the college are working on responses to the complaint.

He warned against speculation, and requested sensitivity for “the hurts received, and respect for the reputations of everyone involved.”

Mr. Wendth also encouraged students and staff to come forward with information about misconduct.

“Not for just these charges, but by anyone, at any time — please share that information with someone on campus you can trust, so that we can discuss and resolve these concerns. Christians are supposed to be committed to both justice and forgiveness, and we need to remember that,” he said in a letter to AUC faculty and staff.

Mr. Babcock, who retired in May 2007, faces several counts of interference with contract and advantageous relationships, and libel and slander. He, Mr. King and the college also face one count of negligent hiring, retention and supervision.

The complaint says college officials were first told of the alleged abuse in September 2006 by a choir member and fundraising consultant who in the lawsuit is called Julio Doe, now living in Boston.

“Mr. Babcock undertook a sham investigation that was not in accordance with college procedures,” Ms. Lyons said in the 32-page complaint.

Reached at his home in Tennessee yesterday, Mr. Babcock said it would be inappropriate for him to comment beyond the statement by the college.

According to the complaint, Mr. Araujo, who was hired by AUC in 1999 and is a college alumnus, in April 2006 approached Julio Doe, who was living on campus, and pressed Julio’s body against his. In July 2006, Mr. Araujo came into Julio Doe’s room and began to touch him inappropriately, the complaint states.

Julio Doe’s contract with AUC was terminated by Mr. Babcock around September 2006, after he reported Mr. Araujo’s behavior with him and four students.

The lawsuit says Douglas Doe, a foreign student from the Dominican Republic now living in Leominster, was invited to live with Mr. Araujo in 2005, after Mr. Araujo got a scholarship for him to attend AUC. While living with Mr. Araujo, the complaint says, Douglas Doe was sexually abused.

The complaint says Douglas Doe did not report the alleged sexual misconduct because he feared losing his scholarship, which was later cut.

Jonathan Doe, an AUC student from Leominster who auditioned for the college choir, said that after the audition, Mr. Araujo hugged him and rubbed him while telling him how proud he was of him. The complaint says that while similar incidents occurred while Jonathan Doe was a student, he did not report the alleged abuse because he feared repercussions.

A piano student of Mr. Araujo who took lessons at the Thayer Conservatory on the college campus is called Octavio Doe in the complaint.

In 2005, after a Christmas concert, Mr. Araujo allegedly hugged Octavio Doe and touched him inappropriately, the complaint states.

Octavio Doe allegedly told Julio Doe about Mr. Araujo’s advances around October 2006, and Julio Doe reported it to Mr. Babcock and Mr. King, the complaint states.

The complaint says Mr. Araujo recruited Marcos Doe, who is from Mexico, with a promise of a full scholarship, housing and spending money, and said he would get the college to create a special class in music conducting just for him.

When Marcos Doe arrived at AUC, he discovered there was no place for him to live, and he was forced to sleep in a truck for three months. Mr. Araujo allegedly tried to abuse him, but when Marcos Doe refused his advances, his scholarship was suddenly denied and he subsequently lost his visa and had to leave the college and return to Mexico.

Ms. Lyons said yesterday the students were not willing participants in Mr. Araujo’s sexual actions, and resisted him.

“What strikes me in these cases of religious institutions is the absolute, incredible disregard for these kinds of allegations on the part of a professor versus the student,” she said.

Before he came to AUC, Mr. Araujo was the music director for more than 25 years at the Takoma Park, Md., Seventh-day Adventist Church.

During his church tenure, Mr. Araujo led choral ensembles all over the world.

In 1975, in Poland, he was invited to give a state performance for visiting U.S. President Gerald R. Ford. In 1979, he was a guest of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and in 1981, he presented the Jerusalem Passion Play and Nativity Play in Bethlehem. In 1994, with Israeli Occupation Forces surrounding the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Mr. Araujo led a performance of Handel’s “Messiah” that was videotaped and marketed as a peace effort among Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East.

At AUC, Mr. Araujo, called “maestro” at the college — and “Papa” by his students, according to a 2006 interview with him — created three choral groups, one of which, Pro Arts International, has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Ms. Lyons said the lawsuit seeks money for emotional and psychological conditions resulting from the alleged abuse, financial losses for medical care and loss of earning capacity, and loss of enjoyment of life.

The complaint alleges that Mr. Babcock engaged in libel and slander by accusing Julio Doe of being untrustworthy and inadequate in his fundraising abilities. It says he has lost contracts because of the alleged slander.

The complaint states Mr. Babcock wrote a negative letter about Julio Doe to the owner of Golden Cross, a large medical insurance company in South America where Julio Doe sought employment.

REMEMBER

They are charged, not tried and found guilty...


May true justice prevail..

No, Stan is right. This man has only been accused and not changed or proven guilty. That does make a difference.

About three years ago I created our Conferences' Volunteer Screening Policy and know that abuse must be stopped! Once that has happened, then the accusations need to be investigated and once proven to be accurate, charges filed. I would say that in the above instance they are still in the investgative stages and some may be jumping the gun and laying charges before this man is proven guilty. (I do not know anything about the man - just from the newspaper article)

Do we protect the abuser? Yes and No. Some people charged with abuse are not guilty while most of them are. But....that is proven through investigation and if they are found not guilty then their life is probably ruined. Should we not be fair? Of course we should not cover things up. But, in the instance above, are the leaders covering things up? I don't know and if I say they are then I am guilty of judging them, am I not? I would say we need to wait and see before we juge them.

Five people came forward at great personal risk and probably great personal loss. Compare this with the generous statistics that only 4% of the accused are falsely accused. Statistically the accused individuals are beyond a reasonable doubt guilty as charged.

Darlene, please define "right."

Are the leaders covering things up? I think we can judge what we know. It is a simple job performance evaluation. We do need to "evaluate" our leaders and fire them if they don't measure up. To not evaluate them would be irresponsible on our part. Their actions and inactions speak for themselves.

I am not saying this man is not guilty, but often we are so fast to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else and say a person is guilty when he has not been tried nor found guilty. That is the reason why I have said, Stan is "right."

If he is guilty then action definitely needs to be taken. Until that time I will not condemn.

Of course we need to hold officers/leaders accountable. However, have they been proven guilty? No. We are jumping to conclusions and judging before we know the whole story.

Darlene, the proof is pretty convincing. Five men have come forward who belong to a very patriarchal culture. A little research about how male abuse victims are treated in Mexico and Brazil will show that they have a terrific amount to lose. I consider this proof very, very, very convincing. I believe these five men.

If the "alleged" perpetrators are not guilty then the five men are lying. In focusing on the veracity both you and Stan are accusing five "alleged" abuse vicitms of lying.

Until I find them guilty I will not condemn these five men and subject further young Adventist men to sexual abuse.

There is always compelling evidence in the media for guilt.

We are not accusing them of lying at all, and that is rather presumptuous and rude..

I am well aware there is sin.

I am also familiar with incidents that after 8 years, the person who lodged a horrendous complaint, that stayed out of the courts, came back later and said... Well maybe what happened is not quite what I had said. This was after the other person lost his job, family, career etc etc.. I had always wanted that to go to the courts, it would have been way better all around. I am aware of another one as well.

Tell me where I accused them of lying?