"And we, who have always thought of happiness climbing,
would feel the emotion that almost startles
when happiness falls."
- Rainier Maria Rilke, The Tenth Elegy, Duino Elegies
 |
| Convicted serial child molester Larry Nassar appears at his sentencing, January 24, 2018. Photo: Sky News |
On sentencing serial child molester Larry Nassar,
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina stated:
Aside from the letter you wrote, a couple of months after your plea which tells me that you still don't get it, there is something I don't understand and I want to make clear. Sir, you knew you had a problem, that's clear to me. You knew you had a problem from a very young age before you were a doctor. You could have taken yourself away from temptation and you did not.
Worst yet, there is not a survivor who has not come in here and said how world renowned you were. I trust what they say. You could have gone anywhere in the world to be treated. You could have gone to any resort and any doctor or place where you can get treatment. In Europe they have all sorts of hidden places for things like this.
No one had to know and you could have found treatments, some help, taken some medicines. You would have done that if you had cancer. I know you would have. You are about self-preservation. But, you decided to not address what's inside you that causes this control urge that causes you to be a sexual predator. So, your urges escalated and based on the numbers, that we all know go unreported. I cannot even guess how many vulnerable children and families you actually assaulted.
Your decision to assault was precise, calculated, manipulated, devious, despicable, I don't have to add words because your survivors have said all of that, I don't want to repeat it. You cannot give them back their innocence, their youth, you can't give a father back his life. One of your victims, her life and she took it. You can't return a daughter to a mother, a father to a daughter. You played on everyone's vulnerability.
[ed. - see also: https://www.npr.org/2018/07/19/630440282/more-than-140-sister-survivors-of-larry-nassar-abuse-are-honored-at-espys ]
[ed. - As the "#MeToo" movement shakes up America and the world, we are in a "kairos moment" for exposing the decades of abuses perpetrated against women and children in our society. But there is another demographic that has been Robert Earl Burton's target for over fifty years: young heterosexual males (including, in some instances, underage boys.)
A self-proclaimed spiritual teacher ("second only to Christ"), founding minister of The Fellowship of Friends "religion," and ruler of the cloistered Sierra Foothills community of Apollo, Burton has preyed upon his youngest and most naive followers. Hidden within this secretive cult, where the "beloved Teacher" is protected by a code of silence, Burton's crimes have largely been shielded from the scrutiny of governmental agencies, the press, local communities, and even his "congregation."
Though Burton has reportedly admitted having sexual relations with hundreds of followers, his abuses are not limited to the sexual arena. Abuse in a cult takes many forms, and in some cases, it clearly led to suicide.
Like Larry Nassar, recently accused of "molesting at least 265 girls and young women," Burton is surrounded by a network of enablers (who know who they are), most long-time loyalists benefiting in many ways from membership in Burton's inner circle. Their names appear throughout this blog and include Girard Haven, Wayne Mott, Ethan Harris, Rowena Taylor [aka Renée Taylor], Linda Kaplan [aka Linda Tulisso], Dorian Matei, Sasha Shalapanov, Greg Holman, Alisanne Frew, Nick Spaulding, Karen Johnston, Benjamin Yudin, Judith Grace, Steven Dambeck, Elizabeth Blake, Diana Kay Eaton, Edith Minne, and Guinevere Mueller.
As he approaches his 79th birthday (celebrated May 12th), it is clear that Burton still does not, and likely will never "get it." From the earliest days, his "decision to assault was precise, calculated, manipulated, devious, despicable."
The following 44 stories, selected from hundreds, represent some of those who had the courage to speak out, and a few who never had the chance.]
