Counselor charged with abuse
The Eckerd Youth Camp staffer is fired after deputies say he assaulted two teens.
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 28, 2003
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A counselor at a Brooksville youth camp was arrested after allegedly assaulting two 16-year-old residents, authorities said.
Ernest Brown, 32, was reported to the Department of Children and Families last week by other counselors at the Eckerd Youth Camp at Camp E-How-Kee after they said he threw the resident to the ground, pinned his arms behind him and held him down with one knee.
"Our counselors go through extensive safety training to prepare them for their role," said Martha Chamberlain, director of corporate communications for Eckerd Youth Alternatives. "We take these things very seriously."
Brown did not return to the facility after he turned himself over to authorities Tuesday, but was fired from his job by telephone Wednesday, Chamberlain said.
After the first report was made, another client, also 16, told Hernando County sheriff deputies that Brown had recently assaulted him as well, throwing him to the ground and pinning him to the concrete. That incident, the report said, was witnessed by other residents, but no counselors.
Brown was charged with child abuse in both incidents.
Chamberlain said she knows of no other complaints against Brown during his yearlong employment at the camp, located south of Brooksville. The camp is home for nearly 60 boys ages 10 to 17 who live and learn at the facility.
"It was the staff at the camp who initiated these official complaints," Chamberlain said. "The system we have has worked the way it's supposed to. That kind of behavior will not be tolerated."
No serious injuries were reported in either of the incidents. Brown, who could not be reached for comment, was released on his own recognizance Wednesday from the Hernando County Jail.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/28/Herna ... _wit.shtmlIf we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion by education
--Thomas Jefferson
