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April 30, 2005
Court Transcripts Expose Story of Sexual Abuse
A young boy says he was molested while visiting his "big brother," Las Vegas pediatrician David Evans, who was formerly with the organization Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Evans now faces more than 50 felony charges. There are nearly 100 pages of testimony, and much of it is too graphic to detail. But many of the pages tell the story of how a 10-year-old boy met the Las Vegas doctor he says sexually abused him.
Page after page, the testimony is explicit, a 10-year-old boy told the prosecutor, "Well, I was seeing a counselor and they said it would be a good thing to get me in a program called Big Brothers Big Sisters. So, I did. One day I went there and we met Mr. Dave Evans and then he got me a birthday present."
He was in caught in the middle of his parent's divorce, so his counselor suggested he could use a friend. A vulnerable young man and a trusted physician began to spend time a lot of time together. They took overnight trips, but the boy said sleeping in the same bed with Dr. Evans began to feel uncomfortable.
The court transcript reads: Prosecutor, "Now when you would go and spend the night at Mr. Evans' house where would you sleep?" Boy, "On the bed next to him." Prosecutor, "What did you think of that?" Boy, "I really didn't like it."
Louis Mortillaro, a local psychologist and former Big Brothers Big Sisters board member, says the organization has a good screening process but there are loopholes. He said, "No screening process is 100-percent foolproof. And you will get bad apples sneaking through."
Eyewitness News spoke to Erin Bornelius, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nevada, on the phone. She said, "Application, interview, reference checks and background checks..." Bornelius says those are just a few of the security measures taken. She added, "There are some key signs that all agencies look for."
Officials say it's impossible to catch everything. Mortillaro said, "Sometimes people have a secret, devious life that only comes to the forefront in cases like this."
Big Brothers Big Sisters would not comment on this case, but Bornelius says they will continue to live by their golden rule. She said, "If I would not match my child with this person I would not match anyone's child with this person. We consider these kids just like our own children."
Another boy is also included in the testimony within these documents. Big Brothers Big Sisters officials say they train all children and their parents about how to recognize and report inappropriate behavior.
Officials recommend that parents spend time with any adult that their children come in contact with. They also suggest making sure all meetings between your child and their adult friends are done in public places when possible.
Posted by Nealus at April 30, 2005 04:53 PM
