Former camper recounts alleged abuse at Maryland church camp overseen by Warnock

Washington, now 30, recounted events from his time at Camp Farthest Out in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon. He described counselors who locked him outside his cabin overnight and threw urine on him, and he said that as a 12-year-old he was left alone outside as punishment for wetting his bed. These are his personal allegations, and the Free Beacon’s report does not independently establish them. The camp was overseen by Reverend Raphael Warnock, who was then senior pastor of Baltimore’s Douglas Memorial Community Church. Warnock is now running for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia.

According to the report, Washington said the camp was his first extended trip away from his parents and his first time in such a rural setting. His mother sent him and his sister there after the family had moved from California to Baltimore, hoping the children would make friends. Washington said counselors, who he recalled were in their late teens or early 20s, showed little interest in caring for the campers, and that campers were not allowed to call their parents. He said that when he finally told his mother what had happened, she confronted the camp, and the family went to court.

Warnock was arrested in 2002 for allegedly obstructing a child abuse investigation by Maryland State Police that centered on the camp’s treatment of children, according to the report. Warnock has faced scrutiny over that arrest. The Free Beacon also reported that records from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which it obtained earlier this month, indicated that campers were routinely left unsupervised, that staffers were not subject to a required criminal background check, and that at least five cases of child abuse or neglect were brought against the camp’s director, who was ultimately forced to resign. Warnock served as senior pastor at the church from 2001 until around 2005, and his responsibilities included overseeing the expansion of the church’s sleepaway camp, which served inner-city children.

Washington said his experience led to a lawsuit filed in 2003 against Warnock, the camp, and several counselors. A court docket shows that lawyers on both sides moved to dismiss the case “with prejudice” in May 2005, a resolution that frequently occurs when lawsuits are settled out of court. Officials from the courthouse and the Maryland state archives told the Free Beacon they could not locate any records from the case. The lawyer who represented Washington’s family declined to discuss the matter on the record. Washington’s sister, who also attended the camp that summer, confirmed the family’s involvement in the lawsuit. A source close to the family told the Free Beacon that the suit concerned an incident in which counselors poured urine on Washington at the camp. The Free Beacon said it could not confirm the broader extent of abuse at the camp or whether other campers had similar experiences.

Warnock’s campaign did not respond to the Free Beacon’s request for comment. Washington said he was surprised to learn Warnock was running for Senate, and he told the Free Beacon that a person who ran a camp like that should not seek public office. “I just wanted to get the hell away from that camp,” he said. “That camp was real messed up.” He said he thanked his mother for pursuing the matter, describing her as the reason the family was able to act.

Washington said the family eventually received a financial settlement in the case.

Source: Read the original report