Pennsylvania Implements the Adam Walsh Act (AWA)

On December 20, 2011, Governor Corbett signed a bill to bring Pennsylvania into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA) of 2006.  Most of the major provisions of the act are now implemented.

 If you are an RSO or care about one then please read the summary of the new registration requirements the law requires.  Needless to say, this is a more punitive and retroactive set of requirements for ex-offenders and their families and friends.  One example of the misguided nature of the law is your dangerousness level i.e. Tier is offense based and does not allow for, say, a panel to determine ones level.  There is no incentivization or mechanism built into the law to allow for one to petition to reduce his compulsory dangerousness level, no matter what.  If you have a offense against a minor, for instance, you are "Tier III" and on the registry for life and all that means.  If you don't live in a state that has enacted the AWA, read through it below-it may be passed in your state someday.  For those of us in Massachusetts, it is possible we are one very horrible and public case away from politicians enacting the AWA.

Wait, there's good news!

From a contact at the Pennsylvania chapter of http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org the good news is: There is an attorney who will challenge the law but offenders and families need to step up and make their voices heard and fight for their rights.  Please also considering contributing to the law firm to defray the legal expenses.  If you live in PA, filing a complaint with the local chapter of the ACLU and the PA State Police is recommended and detailed below.
-Richard

HELP FIGHT THE AWA!

Attorney Information:

Weisberg Law, P.C.

also t/a Consumer Justice Alliance

7 S. Morton Ave.

Morton, PA 19070

W:  610-690-0801

C:   215-370-7500

F:   610-690-0880

www.weisberglawoffices.com

**Each person is should donate a minimum of $50.00---$100.00 each**
“Fight AWA Act” should be clearly printed in the memo section of the Check!

Each person is advised to contact the ACLU and file an individual Complaint!

ACLU Eastern Office
PO Box 40008
Philadelphia, PA 19106
T: 215-592-1513 or toll-free at 877-PHL-ACLU
F: 215-592-1343

info@aclupa.org                ***IF YOU LIVE IN WESTERN PA or Middle PA… JUST GOOGLE ACLU and SEND YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE APPROPRIATE ACLU ADDRESS. THEY HAVE ONE FOR WESTERN PA & MIDDLE PA***

**Each Offender is advised to contact the Megan’s Law Section and file a formal written complaint**

Pennsylvania State Police
Bureau of Records and Identification
Megan's Law Section
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110
toll free at 1-866-771-3170

Preview of upcoming independent film project tentatively titled "Gary Blanton Jr.- Beyond The Label."

On June 2, 2012, a career criminal named Patrick Drum killed two people and planned to kill a third along the Washington state peninsula. Because his victims were listed on the state's public "sex offender" registry, Drum was labeled a "hero" by many in the community. But they judged the victims on the label alone.

Beyond the Label looks at the life of Gary Blanton as told by his widow, Leslie Blanton. Mrs. Blanton, in her own words, goes beyond the media reports and the label given by society, showing Gary Blanton, Jr. as a devoted husband and father, a volunteer in the community, and a man who struggled to overcome the label "Registered Sex Offender."

Gary Blanton, Jr. was officially convicted of "Third Degree Rape"; however, the media failed to mention his conviction was the result of a consensual relationship when Blanton was just 17 years old, a relationship disapproved by his girlfriend's parents. Blanton lived a decade on the registry, working, volunteering, and taking care of his wife and kids, while being singled out and targeted based on the sex offender label. 

This video is restricted and copyrighted by Once Fallen working in cooperation with Leslie Blanton, the wife of Gary Blanton, Jr. This preview is not to be reproduced or redistributed without the expressed written consent of Once Fallen. The preview title and content is a work in progress and may not reflect the finished product.

For more information or to donate to this project, go to http://www.oncefallen.com/

The Compassionate Companion

First, I wanted to apologize for the lack of posts.  I've been flaking out a bit and have been delibrately avoiding the my blog, Twitter and Facebook.

As some of you know, I have done my 10 years on probation  and the time after my release from probation (August 2011) with my labrador retrievers by my side.  I'm sorry to report that 3 weeks ago I had to put  my old boy Champ down at 13 years 3 months.  He and his littermate Daisy (2010) were the constants in my life throughout my joys and struggles the past decade+.  Champ and Daisy live on in 4 other dogs they helped nuture, showing them how to enjoy being a dog and to understand the human environment in which they live.

 I know many of you also enjoy the companionship a pet can bring into ones life.  For us sex offenders (and I'm sure many other ex-cons), being with a beloved pet draws us away and buffers us from whatever ostracism or ill follows us around town or into our homes and helps us focus on the "now", something easily distracted from when you are constantly reminded about your past and the future that awaits you.  My labs were my greatest protectors, spiritually and physically.

Of course, having a pet is not always practical, feasible, or allowed (yes probation/parole can bar you from having a pet).  I was fortunate to have a family that supported the financial care of my dogs when I couldn't, for instance.  However, if you are able to make the commitment and incorporate a dog (or cat) into your life on whatever level after prison, during probation, etc..., it may be the most wonderful choice you could make.  Their ability to rehabilitate the soul is staggering.

4th Annual RSOL Conference • Catching the Dream of Reform

General Information

This year's National Conference, hosted by RSOL New Mexico at the renowned Ramada Inn Conference Center in Albuquerque, seeks to empower citizen-driven law reform groups to better understand the complexity of current thinking on sex offender registration issues and find workable options for change. Distinguished speakers will launch a collaborative think-tank of proven ideas and best approaches to making all communities safe and abuse-free. 

The conference offers a unified approach to legislative advocacy and volunteer-driven organizational development with topical expert presentations and three distinct yet interrelated 'skill and awareness building' paths through panel discussions and training workshops. The workshops, panels, and forums, which may be mixed-and-matched at discretion, are actually organized as mini-tutorials with each segment building one upon the next under three headings:

• How lawmaking works and what advocates need to know to have an impact on the process
• What changes experts recommend regarding current sexual offense laws
• How to organize effective advocacy/support groups and grow professional communications networks

Featured Speakers

• Janice Bellucci, civil rights attorney and President, California Reform Sex Offender Laws
• Amy Borror, Public Information Officer for the Ohio Public Defender's Office
• Erin Comartin, doctoral candidate at Michigan's Wayne State University
• Dr. George Geysen, clinical and forensic psychologist who is an expert in the assessment and treatment of persons with problem sexual behavior and sexual offenses
• Melissa Hill, criminal appeals attorney representing the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico on the New Mexico Sentencing Commission's Sex Offender Management Board Defense Lawyers’ Association
• Dr. Eric A. Imhof, Psy.D., President/Clinical Director of Specialized Treatment and Assessment Resources, P. A.
• Tamara Rice Lave, former public defender and current Associate Professor, University of Miami School of Law
• Cisco McSorely, New Mexico Senator and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Norm Pattis, nationally acclaimed trial lawyer frequently sought as co-counsel for those who have unjustly been denied liberty
• Phil Taylor, licensed sex offender treatment provider who has worked with parolees and probationers for 20 years

In addition, several informal (and entirely optional) social events will serve conference objectives by enhancing professional networking in relaxed social environments. Several 'open sessions' will also allow attendees time and space to interact directly with peers and experts. Parents traveling with children may utilize child-care during conference hours.

Bernard Baran, The Real Deal

I'm posing this video for those of you who are/were wrongfully accused or convicted of a sex offense and also those of us RSO's who sometimes lose hope and get frustrated with our lives and situation as registered offenders with all of the restrictions and pressures put upon us.

Bernard is an exceptional example of carrying on with a steadiness and grace that we should all strive toward.  Even if you only watch of few minutes of Bee talking about his case, you'll see what I mean.  This video is provided by the Bernard Baran Blog:

On April 17, 2012, Bernard Baran and his attorney, John Swomley, visited a criminal justice class at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.
Here is a link to the video.
An unscrupulous prosecutor rode a wave of homophobic hysteria to get his career-advancing conviction. (Disgracefully, he is still a judge in Massachusetts.) Baran, an innocent man arrested when only 19, survived 22 years of rapes, beatings, and degradation. The Berkshire County still refuses to acknowledge the terrible mistakes that they made.
-Bob Chatelle

‘This is a nightmare for all of us’: Conductor Zander reflects on his errors and his future after NEC

‘This is a nightmare for all of us’ By Geoff Edgers
Globe Staff / February 5, 2012


The conductor, author, and inspirational speaker sits in the living room of his Brattle Street home, listening to what is being said about him:


That he, Benjamin Zander, showed no remorse. That he put children at risk. That New England Conservatory, his professional home for 45 years, had no choice other than to fire him.
Zander, usually overflowing with laughter and enthusiasm, wearily runs his hands through his frizzy white hair. He’s unhappy with himself and he’s unhappy with NEC’s leaders, who he feels rushed to judgment. He notes that when NEC president Tony Woodcock fired him last month, Woodcock hadn’t yet discovered that it was the school’s opera department - not Zander - who first hired videographer Peter Benjamin, a registered sex offender, to record performances by NEC students.


“It’s about as bad a situation as things can be,’’ Zander says.
These days, he’s left to contemplate the fallout of hiring Benjamin. Three upcoming paid speaking engagements have already been canceled.


Zander is also pained by the damage done to NEC, an institution dear to him.
“This is a nightmare for all of us,’’ he says. “I want us to all wake up and say, ‘What went wrong?’ ’’ ...


Zander, 72, began teaching at NEC in 1966. He helped found the Boston Philharmonic in 1979, and, over the last two decades, has developed a profitable and high-profile gig giving leadership talks. Zander’s dynamic approach has been featured on “60 Minutes’’ and Charlie Rose, has scored him the opening speech at a World Economic Forum and, just last October, drew Sting to a rehearsal of NEC’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in Brown Hall.
And he refuses to see only the dark side of his current situation. The mess has, he says, humbled and transformed him. Indignant at first, Zander has now publicly apologized for his lack of judgment.


The crisis, he says, allowed him to hear both the appreciative words from scores of parents, teachers, and musicians who feel NEC made a mistake in dismissing him, and the criticism from friends and family members who have helped him realize just how irresponsible it was to support Benjamin without knowing enough about the crimes.


His wife, Rosamund Zander, winces at his defensiveness in the immediate wake of the firing.
“It’s very difficult for the ego and psyche to transform when you’ve been beaten to a pulp,’’ she said. “He’s coming to a sense of responsibility or awareness that he hadn’t had before. But in order to get there, somebody came up with a two- by-four and smashed him.’’


It was about 20 years ago when the conductor, who led the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and taught NEC’s interpretation class, wrote a letter of support for Benjamin on the eve of the videographer’s sentencing for raping and sexually abusing teenagers. Benjamin had worked for Zander prior to his arrest.


He says he didn’t know the particulars of Benjamin’s crimes at the time and still didn’t 10 years later when he hired him to film concerts and rehearsals with the YPO or a class he taught at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, a preparatory school affiliated with NEC. He also did not tell his superiors what he did know about Benjamin, which is that the videographer had been jailed for sex crimes involving minors.

Benjamin underwent a rigorous rehabilitation program, according to his attorney, and has faced no new charges of a sexual nature since his release from prison in the late 1990s. He has not been accused of any misconduct at NEC, but Zander now concedes that it was irresponsible for him to put a Level II sex offender in the same room with the teens the conductor worked with at NEC and Walnut Hill.


NEC learned of Benjamin’s past just before Christmas, tipped off by a parent.
On Jan. 12, after weeks of investigation and consultation with the school’s board and attorneys, Woodcock called Zander into his office and told him he would need to resign or be fired. In the short meeting, Zander did not resign - or apologize.


“I was staggered,’’ said Woodcock. “It didn’t show any culpability. It reinforced the notion of no judgment whatsoever. If somebody is demonstrating no judgment, how can they be responsible for children?
...
Zander’s firing also has raised questions about NEC’s approach. Why wasn’t he suspended so the school could take more time investigating his role? Did the climate surrounding the Pennsylvania State University scandal, in which legendary football coach Joe Paterno was dismissed after revelations of child sex abuse by a former assistant, drive NEC’s actions?


“What Ben did was obviously a failure of judgment, but I would think in the interest of the school they would have tried hard to define his role and see if anything was salvageable,’’ said composer John Harbison, a friend of Zander’s who believes he should not have been fired. “They’ve not opened any channel to any possible reconciliation.’’


The conductor now says he was extremely naive. He had no idea that his job was at risk at any point, not when NEC first asked him about Benjamin in December, nor when the school phoned him in London during a recording session a few weeks later to ask more questions.


Benjamin’s NEC work, in fact, stretched far beyond Zander. In the school’s video library, there is a rack of almost two dozen DVDs commissioned by the school’s Opera Department. Two of the videos predate Zander’s hiring of Benjamin and one, a 2002 production of “Hansel and Gretel,’’ features two dozen middle-school students who performed as part of a children’s chorus.


At no time did NEC ever do a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check on Benjamin, now standard practice for schools. It was a failure on NEC’s part, Woodcock said, and an important lesson.


“It’s like air travel before 9/11 and air travel after 9/11,’’ he said. “We are in a new world as an organization. I think I need to know absolutely who is under the roof of NEC at any given moment. So I accept responsibility for that.’’
Though NEC had a committee investigate Benjamin’s work, Woodcock was unaware, when asked last week, of the 2002 opera videos. A day later, he said a faculty member, whom he declined to name, hired Benjamin without knowledge of his sexual crimes. The charges against the videographer included his having secretly videotaped himself having sex with three male teens, one of whom he abused for two years starting when the boy was 13.
“If I come to learn otherwise, I will take appropriate action,’’ said Woodcock.


Zander finds it hard to believe that others didn’t know of Benjamin’s past. Whether filming for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, American Repertory Theater, or Boston Ballet, Benjamin was well known in Boston’s cultural community. He was particularly close with the late Sarah Caldwell, the legendary head of Opera Company of Boston.


In fact, Caldwell not only attended his 1994 sentencing hearing, she sobbed in court when he was led away, Benjamin confirmed through his attorney, John Swomley.


“If [Woodcock] had just stepped back, if he had acted judiciously and said, ‘Let’s look at this. Let’s see what’s going on here,’ ’’ Zander says. “Peter Benjamin, for better or worse, is part of the fabric of the Boston artistic scene. He’s worked everywhere, and he’s worked so much at the conservatory that when he walks in the door, people don’t even look up. Who knew? Who didn’t know? It didn’t seem to matter.’’

Woodcock says Zander left him little choice.


He called the conductor a “powerhouse’’ in an interview last week and said he was familiar with his work before coming to NEC having attended one of his leadership talks and read the book Zander wrote with his wife, Rosamund, “The Art of Possibility.’’


But relations between the two grew strained after Woodcock was hired in 2007. Neither Woodcock nor Zander would say why.


In fact, Zander had already been forced out of YPO. Last summer, NEC announced a “transition’’ plan for the youth orchestra that saw Zander stepping down in 2013, after two more seasons. Publicly, the two presented a unified front, with Zander’s exit to be punctuated by a yearlong celebration, tour and lifelong appointment as music director emeritus. Zander says now he didn’t want to leave but had no choice.


Woodcock, in an interview last week, said that the conductor’s prominence did not play into the decision to fire him for the Benjamin case and that Zander should not have received special treatment.


“I don’t know about one set of rules for individuals because they’re visiting deity and another code of conduct because they’re like you and I,’’ he said.
...
The loss of the post, for Zander, was crushing. He says that he has always taken special pride in his work with the youth in the YPO on Saturdays and at Walnut Hill on Mondays.


“It’s growth and development for the next generation,’’ he said. “That’s my life’s work.’’


Just last summer, Zander took the YPO on a tour of Eastern Europe. To help foot the bill, Zander says he paid $260,000 out of his own pocket - money raised through speaking fees. Players have been writing Zander since news broke.


“You CANNOT leave us! You MUST come back!’’ e-mailed Njeri Grevious, 16, a violinist from Newton.
Kathleen Boyd, first flute in the Boston Philharmonic and a student of the conductor at NEC in the 1970s, said Zander’s firing has sparked considerable anger and fear among the many musicians who studied under him.
“Ben should be celebrated for the gifts he has given to all of us,’’ she said. “This is such a wrong ending for his time at NEC.’’


Carol Ehrlich, whose son Harry, 15, plays cello in the YPO, felt NEC should have reprimanded Zander, not fired him. She praised the conductor for the care he takes in mentoring young musicians.


“The kids don’t just play music. He encourages them to see music as making up a bigger statement in the world,’’ she said. “Now they feel abandoned and hurt. Through this process, the kids came in last.’’
Not everyone associated with the YPO supports Zander.


“You do realize that he was basically promoting a level II sex offender this whole time, right?’’ wrote one player on a Facebook thread after another suggested protesting NEC’s move.


And a parent of a player said she agreed with the firing.


“I think that was the exact correct response,’’ said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous for fear her child would lose opportunities in the music community if she criticized Zander. “He was a huge celebrity, he could be extremely grandiose and he seems to me to be failing in judgment.’’

If there is a bright spot here, says Zander, it is how this crisis has changed him. The first week was spent battling his feelings and avoiding reality.


He took refuge from the reporters camped outside by heading to his daughter’s house. He threw on a suit, a tie, and a smile and gave a paid talk at a leadership conference for Boston Scientific
as if nothing had happened. He managed to get word of his crisis to Rosamund, who was in Africa climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.


His older brother, Michael, a celebrated legal scholar from England, flew in to counsel him. He felt Zander wasn’t taking responsibility for his hiring of Benjamin and should apologize. So did former US Ambassador Swanee Hunt, a close friend and neighbor.


“I said, ‘Ben, for you, the first response has to be what my part is, not what they did to me,’ ’’ she told him. A week after he was fired, Zander began to open up. That, he says, is when the transformation began.


First, Rosamund returned home from Africa. The two have been separated since 1984, but they talk every day, live around the block from each other, and collaborated on the book and inspirational philosophy that have made Zander a world-renowned public speaker.


She stressed how inappropriate it was to bring a convicted sex offender, whose crimes involved video no less, into a school to film children.  Then Michael came down for breakfast one morning with a typed letter explaining two approaches. The first would be to accept that his actions were “grossly negligent.’’ The second would be to continue justifying his behavior.
“The reason I think the first approach will serve you better is that it is cleaner and more honourable,’’ Michael wrote. “Taking the blame on yourself will release you from blaming others. It will release you also from endless agonizing over the question and from wondering and fearing what other people think. . . . You will have stood up and been counted.’’


At that moment, Zander says his perspective shifted. He finally understood what he had done. That is when he sat down to write his apology.


Last Thursday night, Zander returned to the Boston Philharmonic for the first time since the scandal. The orchestra, he says, is all he has left.


On this night, with the more than 80 some players gathered at the Somerville Armory for a rehearsal, Zander gave a short speech. He repeated his apology and spoke of how much he regretted bringing Benjamin into NEC. He then assured the players that the Boston Philharmonic was a separate entity.


“It’s been very tough, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life,’’ he said. “But I’ve grown enormously.’’
With that, the conductor raised his arms and signaled the start to Richard Strauss’s “Ein Heldenleben.’’ It was a typically energetic performance. He shook his arms until his glasses slipped down his nose, stomped his right leg and sang along with the music as he offered instruction.


During the first break, Zander hugged principal horn player Whitacre Hill.

“A big relief that this is still here,’’ said Hill, a veteran of the recently defunct Opera Boston.


Zander talked of the Boston Philharmonic board’s support during the crisis. Then he wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.

“You can’t lie with your body, and you can’t lie with your eyes,’’ he said. “It’s great to be back.’’ Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com.

© Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company.

Ben Zander Releases Apologetic Statement

On January 11, just over one week ago, I was told I had been dismissed from my position at the New England Conservatory (NEC) where I have worked happily for the past 45 years.

The reason was that I had over many years retained the videographer Peter Benjamin to film classes and concerts, knowing that he was a convicted sex offender who had served a term of imprisonment. I supported him in the sentencing stage of his trial and after his release on the basis of what I saw as his earnest determination to turn his life around, but I did so without inquiring into the exact nature of the charges. This was a grave oversight.

Further, I did not seek the permission of the NEC, based on disclosure of his conviction and imprisonment, to use him as a videographer in the College and the Prep school. I accept that it was not for me to make the decision that it was safe to do so.

For all the upset and anguish my actions have thereby caused in the NEC community and beyond, I profoundly apologize.

Source: benjaminzander.com

Press Release Regarding Peter Benjamin from Swomley & Tennen, LLP

This statement is in response to the ill-considered actions of the New England Conservatory in their treatment of Peter Benjamin, a freelance videographer who was commissioned repeatedly by NEC Departments, and professors at NEC to film performances over the past 13 years for no reason other than the exceptional quality of his work.

Mr. Benjamin is a talented artist and musician. As an undergraduate student at Boston University, Mr. Benjamin auditioned for and was personally hired by Sarah Caldwell to sing in her Opera Company of Boston Chorus . He sang professionally there for 25 years with some of the greatest opera stars in recent history such as Beverly Sills, George London and Boris Kristoff. Mr. Benjamin also gained the attention of Johnny Carson in the early 1960’s and was commissioned by him to film his family. He has worked for many celebrities because of his great expertise in photography and videography. Since then, his work has appeared on 60 Minutes, PrimeTime Live, and the cover of the New York Times.

He has combined his video skills learned as a child with his music acumen and is unmatched by his expertise in classical music and his ability to capture the sounds and visuals of a first rate classical performance in a professional quality recording. Recently, he videotaped Tony Woodcock, the current president of NEC, teaching an adult master class. At no time has there ever been a complaint or cause for concern occasioned by his videotaping these live events. Contrary to the reporting occasioned thus far, the bulk of the videography he was commissioned to do, involved college or graduate level performances.

A small part of the work Mr. Benjamin has been commissioned to do at the New England Conservatory consisted of documenting rehearsals and performances of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Benjamin’s work involving the Preparatory School was conducted in group settings, with multiple cameramen that he brought with him and under conditions where it would have been highly unlikely he would have had so much as a conversation with a student.

In 1991, Mr. Benjamin made a serious mistake. For this he was prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned. Thereafter, of his own volition, Mr. Benjamin entered into and engaged in a very successful four-year intensive therapy program specifically designed to treat individuals who had sexually offended against minor-aged adolescents. The recidivism rate for individuals having completed this program is less than 5%. After Mr. Benjamin completed his sentence in 1998, he was released and placed on supervised probation for five years. As part of his probation Mr. Benjamin was required to work. Mr. Benjamin obtained permission from the probation department to return to his long-time profession of videotaping live music events. While on probation, he was asked to have another adult with him when he was filming at schools or churches to negate any possibility or appearance of impropriety. Probation specifically knew he filmed events at the New England Conservatory. Successfully completing probation, Mr. Benjamin nevertheless kept this precaution in place for years afterwards. Mr. Benjamin has never re-offended and deserves credit for this.

It has come to Mr. Benjamin’s attention that the publicity surrounding NEC’s actions against him may also serve to cause new harm to his primary victim by dredging up the details of those past transgressions. Mr. Benjamin apologizes in advance for this. Mr. Benjamin is grateful his victim asked to meet with him upon his release from prison and gave Mr. Benjamin the opportunity to apologize face to face for his crimes. Mr. Benjamin is forever grateful to be graced with that individual’s forgiveness.

Further questions or comment should be directed to:
John Swomley
Swomley & Tennen
227 Lewis Wharf
Boston, MA 02110
(617) 227-9443
jswomley@swomleyandtennen.com

Why Did Benjamin Zander Hire a Sex Offender and Was Subsequently Fired? He Explains in His Letter To The NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra

My beloved students of YPO,

You now have heard of the terribly sad news that my life at NEC has been terminated. You are probably upset and confused, so I must begin by telling you what happened. This is a most serious matter, so I ask for your careful attention, as I always have in our rehearsals.

Many years ago I met a dedicated videographer named Peter Benjamin. Several years later Benjamin was involved in a serious incident of a sexual nature and he served time in jail. I was not aware of any of the details surrounding the charges.

After his incarceration was over, I got to know him better and was persuaded, as were several other well-known figures in the arts community, that he was profoundly remorseful and determined to turn his life around. He became active again in his filming career and I hired him - about ten years ago - to film some classes and concerts for archival purposes. Over the decade or so that Peter filmed, there were large numbers of people, including adults, in the room. You have probably noticed him occasionally at the back of Jordan Hall at YPO concerts.

As far as I know, there has not been the slightest incident of any kind, and there have been no complaints.

As I have told you so often, everything we do has consequences. My trusting nature, which you know so well from our rehearsals, classes and tour (we call it "Giving an A"), also has now had very serious consequences.

I felt it was the right thing at the time to give this man a chance. I deeply regret the upset I have brought to you all inadvertently as a result of the way this has all played out.

The New England Conservatory has been affected by, like many educational institutions today, in the serious concerns surrounding the sexual molestation cases reported in the press. This is fully understandable. It is a very good thing that the horrific impact of this travesty of human relationships is at last becoming more fully understood and that educational institutions will no longer tolerate it. The administration and the Board of NEC felt that as soon as they were made aware that Mr. Benjamin had a record, even though there had been no complaints, that they had no choice but to bar him. In addition, they also decided to dismiss me, the person who retained him to do the filming.

Was there no other way for them to handle the situation? I believe there was. If NEC had demanded that Mr. Benjamin be prevented from entering the school again, and if they had announced that forthwith all adults with any direct contact with young people would be subject to a background check, I am convinced that the press and the community, including all your parents, would have been satisfied that NEC was treating this matter effectively and with extreme seriousness.

Unfortunately for all of us, that is not the path that was followed.

My complete dedication to NEC has been the generating engine of my entire professional life and I was looking forward more than I can express to celebrate my 40 years with the orchestra, 18 months from now. I am deeply upset about not being able to share that with you after all we have been through together: our rehearsals, performances and tour have been the alpha and omega of my life.

Do I wish that NEC had acted more steadily, with a more orderly process, taking into account, not simply my own career, but - much more important - what I believe I might still offer to students? I very much do. But now it is too late and all we can do is reflect on what we have achieved and perhaps, to think more deeply about the way we make decisions; the way we interact with and take care of people and the values that we live by.

Let me add some words of background......

One week after we returned from our triumphant tour last June, after the sold-out concert in the Musikverein, I was handed a letter from President Woodcock announcing that my tenure as conductor of YPO and my role as the Artistic Director of Walnut Hill would be terminated on June 30th 2012. No reason was given except that they were engaged in succession planning. But I believe that was not the real reason. It is my opinion that the president had become upset with me during the complex discussions caused by disagreements between us about the tour. I believe that terminating my services as soon as possible had become a priority.

During further difficult negotiations it was agreed that my tenure with YPO could be extended for an additional year and my work with Walnut Hill could extend for another two. I had always expected to conduct YPO for many years to come. However, these were terms I tried to accept and live with.

I managed to persuade everyone that it had been my choice to retire and give up YPO, though anyone who knew me would understand that I would not willingly give up my work at my two most beloved institutions.

Even though I was offered the opportunity to resign last week, I decided I would allow myself to be terminated. It was the most painful experience to walk out of my beloved NEC for the last time.

Since I live in possibility and invite you to do so too, we should all think of different ways to spread what we have learned together like ripples. I will develop thoughts as to how I can best continue the work I so much love. And what I will have forever is the memory of all of you.

I believe that only if we treat one another with dignity, can we hope to live fruitful - if sometimes very difficult - lives, enabling us to work together to transform the notes on the page into musical phrases that the great composers have created.


My love to you all.


Ben Zander

Too dangerous, too much bad press

Boston Globe article: Video Maker had sordid past, strong advocates  This story has been picking up steam the past week here in Boston since the story pushes many buttons around here.

So it's been almost 20 years since Peter E. Benjamin had left prison, completed a vigorous sex offender treatment program, and rebuilt his life and professional career. Though he has garnered the attention of zero complaints of inappropriate behavior with his work at the New England Conservatory or any of his other clients over those two decades, it was determined Mr. Benjamin was too dangerous and, no doubt, too much bad press for the NEC continue to contract the services of this level 2 registered sex offender. It's not a stretch to think that many of his other clients and prospects will follow in the footsteps of the Conservatory. To think he was an immediate danger to minors at NEC is assuming too much.


As someone who is about 15 years on from my offense, what concerns me is the incorrect and baseless public belief of perpetual dangerousness for all who have committed a sex offense against a minor, that I'm always on the cusp of reoffending against another child if I were put in an opportune position for a moment. Those who work with sex offenders and know the research and literature know this simply is not the case and that level of dangerousness is only pertinent to a fractional percentage of sex offenders. Yeah, Mr. Benjamin was being risky by working around minors in some fashion - being risky more so with his career rather than re-offendeing (its been reported on thebostonchannel.com 90% of his time was spent with graduate students).  His story is a not-so secret fear of and a cautionary tale for many registered sex offenders who rehabilitate and work to create a new, happy and prosperous life for themselves. I hope that Mr. Benjamin avoids the social and professional death that can come with this recent attention, carrying on with a life and career in Boston he rebuilt with the help of others. We should all want any type of offender to rehabilitate, reintegrate, and lead happy, productive and healthy lives, contributing to the community in which we live.

Readers Note:  I don't usually publish the names of other local sex offenders on my blog but this story is very public and front page news from the regions largest newspaper.

Spouses of Incarcerated & Registered Sex Offenders

I made a new section of links to highlight blogs from spouses and family members of sex offenders whose voices are often ignored and are at times (amazingly) accused of supporting the abuse of children since they care for the offender and question the efficacy of sex offender laws.  If you have or know of such blogs please post it in a comment or email directly.

I just found I Love a Sex Offender - make sure to check it out.
Thanks,
-Richard

Happy New Year!

If you are incarcerated or on probation/parole or have a loved one who is, the beginning of a new calendar year is mentally a big deal.  Good luck to everyone in 2012!

Cheers,

Richard