Saturday, November 7, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: MORNING STAR INVESTIGATION

Background: Morning Star Boys' Ranch, a Spokane boys' home, is an institution beloved by many. Others, however, say the ranch was a place where they endured physical and sexual abuse. Follow the investigation here.

Morning Star faces two new lawsuits

3/15/2008 | Two more men sued Morning Star Boys' Ranch and its former director this week, bringing to 10 the number of men who have sued over sexual abuse allegations at the boys home.

More file suit against Morning Star

2/16/2008 | Three more men sued Morning Star Boys' Ranch on Friday, including two men who say the ranch's former director sexually abused them in the 1960s and 1980s.

Morning Star must release files

10/12/2007 | The Washington Supreme Court has declined to review a lower court's decision that Morning Star Boys' Ranch must release more than 1,000 personal files to attorneys for seven men who say they were sexually abused at the ranch.

Morning Star fights ruling

8/10/2007 | Two brothers were arrested Thursday in connection with a string of North Side tire slashings last week.

Four more men allege abuse at boys' ranch

6/5/2007 | Four more men sued Morning Star Boys' Ranch on Monday, including two men who allege that the ranch's revered director sexually abused them in the 1970s and '80s.

Morning Star told to release boys' records

5/5/2007 | A Spokane County judge has ordered Morning Star Boys' Ranch to release files of former residents to attorneys who represent seven men who say they were sexually abused.

Director retires from boys' ranch

4/21/2006 | The Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, the longtime director of Morning Star Boys' Ranch who found himself the subject of allegations of physical and sexual abuse last year, announced his retirement from the boys' home on Thursday.

Two allege abuse at boys ranch

3/14/2006 | Two men have sued Morning Star Boys' Ranch for alleged physical abuse at the group home in the 1970s, according to documents filed in Spokane County Superior Court.

Six more men join Morning Star suit

12/24/2005 | Six more men sued Morning Star Boys' Ranch on Friday, including two who accuse the ranch's longtime director of sexual abuse.
Documents:
» Lawsuit (1.5 Mb PDF)
» Response from the Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner
» Statement from board president Bob Durgan

1960s records show Weitensteiner worked wonders

10/27/2005 | The Catholic priest who was founding director of Morning Star Boys' Ranch apparently was forced out of his position in the 1960s after Spokane County's health department objected to conditions at the facility.

871 pages detail accusations

10/16/2005 | Hundreds of pages of state documents detail multiple allegations of sexual abuse of boys at Morning Star Boys' Ranch in the past quarter-century and indicate that the assaults have continued to haunt the revered boys' home in recent years.
• Documents supporting this story are linked throughout the text

Morning Star spokeswoman quits

10/15/2005 | The spokeswoman for Morning Star Boys' Ranch, who became the public face of the Spokane boys' home during a turbulent summer, resigned this week.

Alumni step forward to defend boys' ranch

8/31/2005 | In the late 1960s, Morning Star Boys' Ranch took in a young boy whose single mother was unable to care for him. Nearly four decades later, Terry Neal sits on the board of directors for the Catholic-run boys' home, which he said helped him in a desperate time of need.

Closure of boys' ranch urged

8/26/2005 | A former Morning Star Boys' Ranch resident who alleges he was sexually abused there called for its closure at a news conference Thursday.

Watch the video

"Billy" of Morning Star Boys Ranch Lo-Band  |  Hi-Band

Former boys' ranch residents allege sex abuse

8/25/2005 | Two former residents of Morning Star Boys' Ranch, including one who served as its 'poster boy,' sued the Spokane boys' home on Wednesday, alleging that they were sexually abused by counselors in separate incidents in the 1960s and 1980s.
• Read the lawsuit
• Read Morning Star's statement to the media

Boys' ranch says priest accused of molestation wasn't on payroll

8/17/2005 | A review of tax records found no evidence that a Catholic priest accused of molesting dozens of boys in Spokane was ever paid to work at Morning Star Boys' Ranch, the ranch's spokeswoman said this week.

Disturbing connections emerge

7/31/2005 | Three decades ago, while Spokane reveled in its changing skyline and the limelight of hosting a World's Fair, the city frequently was described as a great place to raise a family. But beneath the surface lurked a dark secret – actually several of them.

News doesn't reflect typical ranch experience

7/13/2005 | As one of the boys who lived at Morning Star Boys' Ranch from 1968-70, I feel it is important to give some perspective about the ranch.

Boys' ranch head to take leave

7/8/2005 | The Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, the revered director of Morning Star Boys' Ranch, announced Thursday he will take a temporary leave of absence amid recently publicized allegations of past physical abuse.

Priest: Allegations 'misleading'

7/3/2005 | The last few weeks have been a painful time for the Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, a Roman Catholic priest and the longtime director of Morning Star Boys' Ranch.

Group wants boys' ranch priest out

7/2/2005 | Victims of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters stood outside Morning Star Boys' Ranch on Friday to demand the resignation of the Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner, the longtime director of the residential group home.

Group urges boys' ranch head to resign

7/1/2005 | A Spokane support group for victims of clergy abuse will ask today for the resignation of a 73-year-old Catholic priest who allegedly physically assaulted boys at Morning Star Boys' Ranch.

Ex-boys' ranch staffers urged end to beatings

6/30/2005 | Two former counselors say they urged the Rev. Joseph Weitensteiner to end physical discipline at Morning Star Boys' Ranch in the 1970s. "We made waves, but his word was the final word," a 53-year-old former counselor said Wednesday.

More allege beatings
at boys ranch

6/28/2005 | Don Norby remembers arriving late for a meal during a Priest Lake camping trip with other boys from Morning Star Boys Ranch in the early 1970s.

Ranch accused of abuse

6/26/2005 | Fifteen-year-old Timothy Donald Everts swore he would never go back to Morning Star Boys' Ranch. He alleged that he was physically and sexually abused in the months he spent at the boys' home south of Spokane, according to his friends and family.

West, Hahn could have taken boys from ranch, official says

6/26/2005 | An official for Morning Star Boys' Ranch conceded last week that Jim West and a fellow sheriff's deputy who killed himself amid allegations of child molestation could have removed boys in the 1970s for outings without registering their names in ranch log books.

Former counselor could still be charged

5/22/2005 | They called him their big brother. He bought them matching shirts and toys their mother couldn't afford. He worked for a candy company in Spokane and drove a pristine, blue '78 Mercury.

Ranch paid man to settle abuse suit

5/15/2005 | Morning Star Boys' Ranch paid one of its former residents an undisclosed amount of money last fall to settle a lawsuit involving sexual abuse allegations from the 1990s.

Report false, ranch director says

5/12/2005 | The longtime director of Morning Star Boys Ranch on wednesday denied a report that Mayor Jim West and a former sheriff's deputy "checked out" boys for day outings and camping trips in the late 1970s and early 1980s.