A 28-year-old seasonal Boy Scout staff member of Butte Creek Scout Ranch in Multnomah County Oregon has been arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of third-degree sexual abuse.
Elizabeth Monda-Guthrie, 28, was indicted Oct. 6, 2014 and pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
The 16-year-old boy allegedly abused by Monda-Guthrie told investigators that he met her around June 8th at the Butte Creek Scout Ranch where Monda-Guthrie is employed.
The police investigation began on August 29th when a Mulnomah Sheriff’s deputy arrived at a Portland home where he learned that a woman had been involved in abusing the teenager.
According to local media outlet KOIN 6, Monda-Guthrie admitted to knowing her behavior with the minor was criminal.
It is not clear from the news article how long Elizabeth Monda-Guthrie has been employed by the Boy Scouts of America at Butte Creek Scout Ranch. It is also not known at this time if she has sexually abused any other minors.
One item from the news story as reported by KOIN 6 jumped out at me. The reporter described the relationship between the minor and the Boy Scout employee, a female, as a sexual relationship. He writes for instance, “The boy told Jackson that the first time he and Monda-Guthrie had sexual intercourse. . .” and “they had sex every couple of days starting August 14, and had sex four times at the camp and one time on the boy’s parent’s property, court records show.”
This is not a minor mischaracterization or a poor choice of words. What allegedly happened to this minor boy is sexual abuse. It is not a sexual relationship. It is not ok for an adult female to sexually abuse a minor male any more than it is ok for an adult male to abuse a minor female. Words do matter and any characterization of such alleged behavior as anything but criminal sexual abuse is just wrong!