The discovery that Stoughton Police officers had allegedly groomed and sexually abused Sandra Birchmore, a participant in the Stoughton Police Explorers Program led by the person now accused by federal authorities of murdering her, was devastating for our community.

I’ve dedicated my career to fighting for children sexually abused by trusted adults—family members, teachers, coaches, camp counselors, and clergy.  I’ve investigated large-scale sexual abuse scandals for public and private K-12 schools, and I know the devastating and lifelong harm this abuse causes to the individuals involved and the community as a whole. 

When the abuse takes place in a school or program with access to many children, there is almost always more than one victim. 

I also know there are often other adults who knew about the abuse and looked the other way, actively encouraged or even participated.

Our community needs to understand the extent to which the children of Stoughton were subjected to sexual abuse during their participation in the Stoughton Police Explorers Program, and any other youth program operated by the Stoughton Police Department.  Any adult who aided, abetted, conspired, or actively participated in the sexual exploitation of children must be held accountable. 

That’s why, as District Attorney, I will convene a grand jury to investigate the Stoughton Police Department’s youth programs. We will make best efforts to identify all previous participants in these programs, notify them of the pending allegations, and invite any who experienced similar abuse to share their stories. We will also identify all adults who participated in the program as instructors or supervisors of instructors and any other adult who may have relevant information and require them to testify. We will review all policies, training protocols, and accreditation of these programs. And we will hold any adults who aided, abetted, conspired, or participated in childhood sexual abuse accountable for their crimes.

My office will also collaborate with all police departments in our county to ensure that any youth programs are properly accredited and that staff involved in youth programs are properly trained and supervised.

We must not allow what happened in Stoughton to happen in our community ever again.