A U*U Lay Person Is Convicted Of Raping His Neighbor's Daughter As Well As His Own Daughter. . .

You are avoiding the issue Peacebang which, at least from my perspective, was as much about "community denial" including your own, as sexual abuse or other other forms of clergy misconduct. Interestingly enough however, when I ran a Google search on you to try and figure out just who you are in the U*U World, I found a very recent case of U*U sexual abuse that is very close to where you are presently located. . .

Herewith my "tirade" -

I have a much better idea Peacebang. Why don't you ask your colleague ;-) ;-) Rev. Victoria Weinstein to briefly identify some of the pastoral issues that have arisen within her congregation, i.e. The First Parish Church of Norwell, Massachusetts aka First Parish Unitarian Church of Norwell, as a result of the case of one of her own parishioners, a certain Richard Buell who would appear to be a lay person and a "pillar of the church" as it were. . . who was convicted in separate trials of rape of a child with force, and was sentenced to serve two consecutive terms of 10-12 years in prison.

According to this news report in the Norwell Mariner Richard Buell was convicted of raping a female family member, who is now 20, sometime between 1992 and 1996. The girl would have been between 6 and 10 years of age at the time of the incident. Buell was also convicted in a second trial of raping the daughter of a family acquaintance, who would have been 11 years old at the time, and is now 25. During the trial, the woman testified that in January of 1993, while she was spending the night at the Buells' home on Circuit Street, Buell entered her room and raped her in her sleep. Following his convictions, Buell was transferred to the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Concord, Massachusetts. This is the very same correctional facility that convicted U*U rapist Rev. Mack Mitchell, formerly minister of the First Parish Church in Framingham Massachusetts, served his time for raping some young Tibetan exchange students that he had brought from Tibet to his U*U parish. Please forgiving me for violating the privacy of this U*U community. . .

Now they say you don't tug on Superman's cape

You don't spit into the wind

You don't pull the mask off an 'ole Lone Ranger

And you don't mess around with The Emerson Avenger. . .

Comments

Chalicechick said…
I tried to post this last night, but it looks like it didn't go through:

For me, the part that matters most isn't the act but the coverup. There will always be rapists, there will be a lot more of them when there is tacit approval for their behavior.

You write about two UU sexual abusers, mentioning that they both went to the same jail. To my way of thinking, if both UUs went to jail, then I'd say the system works. The problem with the Catholics is that the priests DIDN'T go to jail and kept spreading the message that their behavior was OK and that one could get away with it.

I'm really sickened that these two incidents happened at all to these poor girls, but I'm also sickened by your apparent glee at getting to use them as ammunition.

Do you really think it's appropriate to be singing a silly song at the end or a post about so many damaged lives? Shouldn't you be asking for prayers instead?

Or does the fact that you get to show that some UUs are bad people (a fact that I don't think anybody's ever denied) make you so happy that it overshadows any compassion you might feel for the victims?

CC
Robin Edgar said…
:I tried to post this last night, but it looks like it didn't go through:

Well I only just came across it today Saturday, November 25, in any case. I guess I didn't get an email notification or overlooked it somehow.

:For me, the part that matters most isn't the act but the coverup.

Well I hate to say so ChaliceChick but AFAIAC Rev. Victoria Weinstein was party to "the cover-up" when she "memory-holed" my posts about this matter to her Peacebang blog. She may have been party to "the cover-up" in other ways and it now seems that a good chunk of the congregation of The First Parish Unitarian Church Norwell was actively involved in "the cover-up" and denial that so often comes hand-in-hand with this kind of case of sexual abuse to say nothing of other types of cases where prominent congregants are accused of something that does not reflect well on their church.

:There will always be rapists, there will be a lot more of them when there is tacit approval for their behavior.

Well I agree and that is precisely why I am exposing and denouncing apparent tacit approval for their behavior by Rev. Victoria Weinstein Peacebang and other DIM Thinking U*Us. . . It now seems that there was considerable tacit approval, or at least deep denial, of Dick Buell's behaviour by at least some DIM Thinking Norwell U*Us.

:You write about two UU sexual abusers, mentioning that they both went to the same jail. To my way of thinking, if both UUs went to jail, then I'd say the system works.

Actually it is open to dispute just how well the legal system worked in these two cases and one can be sure that there are plenty of cases where the legal system does not work well. I am not talking about the legal system however. I am talking about how the U*U religious community responded to these cases and there is plenty of indication that no shortage of DIM Thinking on the part of U*Us is involved in both of these cases, to say nothing of other cases of sexual abuse involving U*Us.

:The problem with the Catholics is that the priests DIDN'T go to jail and kept spreading the message that their behavior was OK and that one could get away with it.

Well has it not occurred to you that other U*U clergy DIDN'T go to jail CC? In any case the U*U "religious community" has in fact kept spreading the message that unbecoming conduct of various kinds by U*U clergy is OK and that U*U ministers can and do get away with it. . . This is certainly true of my own very well documented experience of non-sexual U*U clergy misconduct. N'est-ce pas? Are you sure that U*Us are not as equally guilty of Catholics and other denominations when it comes to the cover-up and denial of sexual abuse and other egregious clergy misconduct by U*U ministers who abuse their power and authority CC? I sure am not convinced of that at all. . .

:I'm really sickened that these two incidents happened at all to these poor girls, but I'm also sickened by your apparent glee at getting to use them as ammunition.

Where is the "apparent glee" CC? Provide a few examples.

:Do you really think it's appropriate to be singing a silly song at the end or a post about so many damaged lives? Shouldn't you be asking for prayers instead?

The lyrics were intended to make it clear to Peacebang that "you don't spit into the wind" CC and that should be obvious. The lyrics also were intended to make it clear to Peacebang that she should not have "tugged" on my cape as it were and they hinted at the "outing" of Peacebang as Rev. Victoria Weinstein. They had little to do with the Buell case. As far as prayers go though I cannot help but notice that Rev. Victoria Weinstein has solicited prayers for her convicted rapist parishioner in 'The Spire' but has apparently not sought any prayers for his victims. Shouldn't Rev. Victoria Weinstein be asking for prayers for the victims too CC? AFAIAC exposing the Buell case to the light of day is a prayer for the victims and one that will hopefully prevent future victims or at least help to ensure that justice comes more swiftly and surely than it did in both of thse cases which dragged on for years before the rapists were convicted and jailed.

:Or does the fact that you get to show that some UUs are bad people (a fact that I don't think anybody's ever denied) make you so happy that it overshadows any compassion you might feel for the victims?

I have plenty of compassion for the victims CC. That is precisely why I am helping to share their story with the U*U "religious community". I find it most interesting that you say that what matters most in these kinds of sexual abuse cases is the cover-up but, when I uncover what is pretty much a U*U cover-up of egregious sexual abuse, you then cynically pretend that I am harming the victims when I report about a case of sexual abuse committed by U*Us. It sounds to me like you and other like-minded U*Us are part of the attempted cover-up and denial yourselves in attempting to silence me. . .
Robin Edgar said…
Oh. One more thing ChaliceChick. . .

How do you feel about Rev. Victoria Weinstein's apparent glee at getting to use Catholics as ammunition to stunningly hypocritically speak out about Catholic sexual abuse at a time when one of her own parishioners had just been convicted of raping pre-teen girls including a "female family member"? Do you feel really good about that CC? Or is it just remotely possible that you are actually *sickened* by it? I certainly wasn't impressed. . .

Any "glee" in my responses to Peacebang's outrageously hypocritical U*U foot-in-mouth disease was mainly poking fun at her own foolish over-the-top behaviour and clearly had nothing to do with the rape victims.
Robin Edgar said…
According to an anonymous poster to The Emerson Avenger blog who seems quite familiar with the Richard Buell rape case and claims to be a friend of the victims the preteen "female family member" that Richard Buell aka Dick Buell was convicted of raping was not his own daughter as I had initially believed on the basis of the reports in the Norwell Mariner. This does not leave many other possibilities. Based on my understanding of what occurred it seems most likely that Rev. Victoria Weinstein`s parishioner Richard Buell was convicted of raping a grand-daughter although it is within possibility that the victim could have been a niece.
Anonymous said…
I love how people who do NOT actually know the persons involved in a paticular case have so much to say about it.
In the case of Richard Buell, the family members in question have a history of lying to scorn others and the court railroaded him.
I hope these other family members with whom I DO NOT associate due to their questionable nature, feel proud of themselves that they waited until this man was already dying of terminal cancer to lodge complaints against him and he spent the last few months of his life in prison for a crime which he did not commit.
Believe it people, it happens.
Robin Edgar said…
:I love how people who do NOT actually know the persons involved in a paticular case have so much to say about it.

Criminal trials are a matter of public record. In most cases members of the public can attend a criminal trial as observers if they choose to do so. It is not necessary to personally know the people involved in criminal trials, either suspects or victims, to be able to form an opinion on the case and speak about it.

:In the case of Richard Buell, the family members in question have a history of lying to scorn others and the court railroaded him.

How so? You make an allegation but present zero evidence to support it. In criminal trials a person is considered to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. All Richard Buell needed to do was to introduce reasonable doubt in order to be acquitted. He also has a right to appeal his conviction and sentence. Obviously this did not happen.

:I hope these other family members with whom I DO NOT associate due to their questionable nature,

Is their "nature" any more questionable than that of Richard Buell? I have seen the alleged victims described as "druggies" elsewhere on the internet but, if they are "druggies", it may well be because they were victims of sexual abuse. . .

:feel proud of themselves that they waited until this man was already dying of terminal cancer to lodge complaints against him

Victims of sexual abuse, especially rape (to say nothing of incest), often do not lodge complaints until years after the crime due to fear of the perpetrator and the social stigma of being a victim of sexual abuse. Many victims of sexual abuse and rape never report the crime for these reasons. Nothing in the news reports suggested that Richard Buell was suffering from terminal cancer.

:and he spent the last few months of his life in prison for a crime which he did not commit.

So you are saying Richard Buell is now dead. Why have I not seen any obituary notice? Surely, at minimum, his death would have been reported in the newsletter of the First Parish Unitarian Church of Norwell.

:Believe it people, it happens.

I am sure that such things can and do happen but I have yet to be convinced that it happened in this case. I invite anybody who possesses reliable information about these allegations and the Richard Buell case more generally to post comments shedding further light on this case.
Anonymous said…
nunya1995..... f you. pull your head out of you a** and admit the obvious (ps if you are his wife, then and extra f to you). When all was said and done dozens of people came forward against buell. I am not a scorned family member and I do not have a vivid imagination. I know facts, and those are that this guy didn't pay enough.
Robin Edgar said…
Thanks for your comment and feel free to fill us in on the facts about this case that you are aware of that have not yet been posted here Anonymous. I get the distinct impression that Richard Buell sexually molested and/or sexually assaulted more than one "female family member".
Anonymous said…
RB has had accusations against him for years from family members to family friends. Over the years many of them were discredited and ignored causing many to stay quiet while he hurt many people. It is undeniable that Phyllis had to know of his ways and either allowed them or encouraged them. When they were finally able to gather evidence to indite him he managed to use every play in the book to put off the trial for about two years while he got his affairs in order. He never should have been allowed to avoid his punishment like that.

Out of respect for all involved I will refrain from adding the details of the victims. I will say that this was a life long habit of RB and was not specific to female family members or friends. He was a sick man, if you can even call him a person. He was lucky to die as quickly as he did in jail. I am disappointed in the many who ignored it for so long and enabled his disease. I can only hope that someday people will get smart and things will change.
Robin Edgar said…
I was not looking for the "gory details" of the other victims Anonymous but thanks for acknowledging that there were indeed other victims. It is not uncommon for victims of this kind of crime to be "discredited" and ignored. In fact it seems to be par for the course when it comes to clergy sexual misconduct and even non-sexual clergy misconduct. Do you know to what extent, if any, the member and leaders of First Parish Norwell participated in discrediting and ignoring Richard Buell's victims? I take note of the fact that Rev. Victoria Weinstein solicited prayers on Richard Buell's behalf but I never saw the slightest evidence of her calling for prayers for his victims.
Anonymous said…
To my knowledge they never accepted it as truth. His wife still attends the church and claims his innocence.
Robin Edgar said…
In the "better late than never" department I just came across these telling words published in the September 20, 2006 edition of 'The Spire' the church newsletter of First Parish Norwell -

This year’s start-up also brings some unusual challenges: a big burst of energy and change in the form of our three talented new staff people, Walter, Jen and
Gingy, and particular heartaches in the death of Pauline Colbert and the trial of Richard
Buell.

Many of you have expressed your sadness over Richard’s conviction; it is a time for
grieving, and a time of shared concern for Phyllis. I am arranging for an aftercare trauma
specialist to visit with us in the near future so that we can share a safe and honest conversation about this terrible situation, and so that you can have some of the questions
you have asked me answered in a far more satisfactory manner than I have been able to do. I will let you know soon when this conversation will take place.

What gets us through heart-wrenching times? Friendship and support, especially the kind
that shows itself in tangible ways as so many of you have shown already this church year.

end quote

I can't help but wonder just how "honest" that conversation actually was. . . On the surface it looks very much like it was intended primarily for the members of First Parish Norwell who supported Richard Buell and were subsequently saddened by his conviction.

I *may* have seen this material before, but did not previously report it if I did see it, and it is only today, as a result of someone engaging in a free and responsible Yahoo! search for the Truth and meaning of what I recently said about Richard Buell's conviction for rape of a preteen girls including a neighbor's daughter and "a female family member" that I found it. As I recall, it was later editions of The Spire such as the October 4, 2006 edition that caught my eye back in the fall of 2006 when I decided to "out" Rev. Victoria Weinsteina aka Vicki The Impaler as Peacebang as a result of her egregious "memory holing" of my comments about Unitarian Universalist clergy sexual abuse that I had posted in response to her post about Roman Catholic clergy abuse entitled 'Violating the Privacy of the Mind And the Body'. . .
Robin Edgar said…
I forgot to add a link to "what I recently said about Richard Buell's conviction for rape of a preteen girls"