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February 16,
2002
Head of Camp in
Arizona Is Arrested in Boy's Death
By James Sterngold
Seven months
after a 14-year-old boy died from exposure at an unregulated boot
camp for troubled youth near Phoenix, the head of the camp, Charles
F. Long II, was arrested yesterday and charged with second- degree
murder.
Mr. Long, 56,
who calls himself a colonel in the America's Buffalo Soldiers
Re-enactors Association, the organization that runs the camp, was
also charged with eight counts of child abuse, aggravated assault
and marijuana possession. At a hearing in Phoenix this afternoon, a
judge set bail at $100,000, and Mr. Long was ordered to have no
contact with children other than his own. He will be arraigned on
Feb. 22.
David Burnell
Smith, Mr. Long's lawyer, said that his client, though filled with
sorrow over the death, intended to plead not guilty and to fight the
charges.
"This was a
case of negligence, pure and simple," said Mr. Smith, adding that
the negligence was on the part of other camp employees, not Mr.
Long. "He's spent 10 years running the camp because he's trying to
help kids, not hurt them."
In addition, a
worker at the camp, Raymond Burr Anderson, 39, was charged with
child abuse for his role in what the sheriff's department described
as a pattern of abuse at the camp, which is in the desert west of
Phoenix. His lawyer, David Derickson, said that Mr. Anderson would
plead not guilty at his arraignment, also on Feb. 22.
Sheriff Joe
Arpaio of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, said that his officers
had also arrested a 17-year-old worker at the camp, Sirveorge Jones,
on child abuse charges and that two more arrests were expected
shortly.
The arrests
followed the death last July of T.H., a troubled 14- year-old who,
the authorities said, collapsed after being forced to endure
temperatures of well over 100 degrees without adequate water, shade
or care. According to the medical examiner, T.H. died of
complications from dehydration and near- drowning from a bath
intended to cool him off.
Other youths at
the camp told of beatings, of being denied food and water and being
forced to eat mud. Sheriff Arpaio called the camp "horrific," and
said his officers found bruises on many of the youths. One camper,
Justin Hurff, has said that counselors singled out T.H. for
particularly tough treatment.
The camp, which
is said to have closed for two months after T.H.'s death and
reopened in September, is now in the middle of its spring term.
"It's operating
this weekend," Mr. Smith said.
Gov. Jane Dee
Hull set up a panel to investigate the camps and now there are two
bills in the legislature that would regulate such camps and require
them to obtain licenses, just as child-welfare agencies do.
The boot camps
are highly debated, with their supporters saying that the "tough
love" approach, forcing youngsters to adapt to a rugged environment,
can transform children who have had trouble with rules. Critics say
that the methods used amount to child abuse.
Some parents
and even some children who had attended Mr. Long's camp have praised
him as helping improve the self-esteem and sense of discipline of
the campers.
Carol Kamin,
executive director of the Children's Action Alliance in Arizona, a
nonprofit child-advocacy group, sat on the governor's panel and said
the legislation was important in bringing proper oversight to such
camps. Under current law, if the camps are in session for less than
a year, then they do not need licenses.
"The current
loophole in the law is the size of the Grand Canyon and it needs to
be closed," Ms. Kamin said. "Unless that happens nothing will have
come of this tragedy."
T.H. was sent
to the boot camp by his mother, who said she had been unable to
control his behavior. T.H. was one of roughly 40 boys and girls,
ages 7 to 17, who had been sent for a 14-week session.
T.H. apparently
collapsed after hours in the heat. He was left in a motel bathtub to
cool off; when counselors returned, a sheriff's affidavit said, they
found him face-down in water. T.H. was then returned to the camp.
One camper said the counselors called for help when T.H. stopped
breathing and turned blue.
An emergency
medical crew came to the camp, about 15 miles south of Buckeye,
Ariz., after a 911 call, but T.H.
was declared dead shortly afterward.
Although there
have been complaints about how long it has taken to arrest Mr. Long,
Sheriff Arpaio said he needed to be sure the investigators had all
the evidence before pursuing charges.
(Out of respect for the family, the child's
name was omitted and initials were used.) |
