“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. And: Who was William Sheehan? Teacher, Boy Scout leader, alleged predator
