Rebecca Compton-Allen Appointed As New Director Of SCV

[FTNK]

I find it hard to believe no one noticed or objected to him "becoming friends" with teen girls that entire time.

[cixelsyd]

1 hour ago, FTNK said:

I find it hard to believe no one noticed or objected to him "becoming friends" with teen girls that entire time.

You say this, after the 38 years it took with Hopkins?

[Jurassic Lancer]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:09 AM, rjohn76 said:

It's also important to note that the appointment of RCA by SCV received a lot of praise within the activity, and I haven't seen anyone walk back that praise so far.  I have a lot of mutuals on FB that are very quick to blow the whistle and cancel out anyone that crosses a line, and there's been zero movement in that direction by any of them.

 

So are you saying that only we denizens of DCP have a problem with how this situation was handled and question the wisdom of SCV in this hire? I never realized we were so cutting edge in our discernment.

[rjohn76]

33 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

So are you saying that only we denizens of DCP have a problem with how this situation was handled and question the wisdom of SCV in this hire? I never realized we were so cutting edge in our discernment.

There are definitely other people out there that have questioned the timeline of events and how things were handled.  I've seen it in a number of different places in recent weeks.  I also get the sense that most people are recognizing that hindsight is often times 20/20... and seem willing to give her the benefit out the doubt that she didn't know anything prior to May.  Several people have pointed out that RCA had been outspoken on the topic of grooming/abuse well before this incident ever went public, which makes it harder to comprehend how she would turn a blind eye to the accused actions if she did have knowledge. 

I shared the MAASIN town hall link before, but I'll include another example below.

https://www.facebook.com/rcomptonallen/posts/10117689276515000

 

[rjohn76]

5 hours ago, FTNK said:

I find it hard to believe no one noticed or objected to him "becoming friends" with teen girls that entire time.

If the bulk of the grooming occurred via private means (ex. email, texts, AIM, IM, PM, DM, etc...), it's completely plausible that nobody really noticed it at the time.

One of the articles I read recently discussed the difficulty in defining and identifying grooming within youth organizations.  It was primarily focused on sports organizations, but many of the same scenarios could apply (ex. a coach/instructor spending 1:1 time with a player after practice).  The expert that was quoted pointed out that it was especially challenging to identify grooming in progress because it oftentimes consists of many discrete acts that, on their own, are not necessarily criminal or abusive.  To the average eye, it could look like a coach/instructor that really wants a student/player to succeed.

[Jurassic Lancer]

1 hour ago, rjohn76 said:

There are definitely other people out there that have questioned the timeline of events and how things were handled.  I've seen it in a number of different places in recent weeks.  I also get the sense that most people are recognizing that hindsight is often times 20/20... and seem willing to give her the benefit out the doubt that she didn't know anything prior to May.  Several people have pointed out that RCA had been outspoken on the topic of grooming/abuse well before this incident ever went public, which makes it harder to comprehend how she would turn a blind eye to the accused actions if she did have knowledge. 

I shared the MAASIN town hall link before, but I'll include another example below.

https://www.facebook.com/rcomptonallen/posts/10117689276515000

 

My issue is not if the grooming wasn’t spotted in a timely manner … it is the timeline after the behavior was reported. The question that was posed that haunts me is (and I am paraphrasing) “This is the only case, right?” Or “There won’t be anyone else coming forward, right?” Sorry I am not going to go back and find the right wording, but that was the gist. My reaction is, why does that  matter? One report is enough. There was too much hemming and hawing. He should have been reported immediately to the authorities. I don’t care how many Ted Talks RCA made, or how she grandstanded in whatever forums she took part in. When the pressure was on, I believe she waffled. For what it is worth, I am sure she learned from this horrible experience. 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Jurassic Lancer

[Jeff Ream]

7 hours ago, FTNK said:

I find it hard to believe no one noticed or objected to him "becoming friends" with teen girls that entire time.

if people knew.

[rjohn76]

26 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

My issue is not if the grooming wasn’t spotted in a timely manner … it is the timeline after the behavior was reported. The question that was posed that haunts me is (and I am paraphrasing) “This is the only case, right?” Or “There won’t be anyone else coming forward, right?” Sorry I am not going to go back and find the right wording, but that was the gist. My reaction is, why does that  matter? One report is enough. There was too much hemming and hawing. He should have been reported immediately to the authorities. I don’t care how many Ted Talks she made, or how she grandstanded in whatever forums she took part in. When the pressure was on, I believe she waffled. For what it is worth, I am sure she learned from this horrible experience. 

I went back and re-read some of the articles.  The initial report went to her on May 18th, but then it went on to the  "executive committee of Shadow's board" for further investigation (quote from initial Tone Madison article included below).  If that's how Shadow's reporting system was designed to work (backed by written internal policy), she may have executed her role as designed.  That's not to say that the system/process isn't without fault, but I've seen a number of corps where reports/complaints are directed to an ethics or compliance committee for investigation.  If that's the case in this instance, it would be the aforementioned executive committee that swung & missed in the course of their investigation and subsequent actions.

It's also interesting to note that Wisconsin does not have mandatory reporting requirements for employees or volunteers of private/non-profit organizations serving youth.  Not that the lack of statutory requirements absolves someone from doing the right thing, but it does create scenarios where internal policy is the guiding light vs. a bright line legal requirement to report.

Quote

McGlauchlen says a former student of the program came forward to Shadow's former executive director, Rebecca Compton-Allen, on May 18, 2021 to report an inappropriate relationship that began with Henzie-Skogen when the student was in the program. The executive committee of Shadow's board investigated the accusations, finding evidence that the relationship first began in the form of inappropriate text messages and images, then escalated to a physical relationship after the student turned 18. On May 27, McGlauchlen says, Henzie-Skogen acknowledged to Shadow's leadership that he had behaved inappropriately with the student. He was fired the same day. At that point, the organization's leadership was willing to believe that this was an isolated lapse of judgment, and did not go public with the news of the firing.

 

[Jurassic Lancer]

43 minutes ago, rjohn76 said:

I went back and re-read some of the articles.  The initial report went to her on May 18th, but then it went on to the  "executive committee of Shadow's board" for further investigation (quote from initial Tone Madison article included below).  If that's how Shadow's reporting system was designed to work (backed by written internal policy), she may have executed her role as designed.  That's not to say that the system/process isn't without fault, but I've seen a number of corps where reports/complaints are directed to an ethics or compliance committee for investigation.  If that's the case in this instance, it would be the aforementioned executive committee that swung & missed in the course of their investigation and subsequent actions.

It's also interesting to note that Wisconsin does not have mandatory reporting requirements for employees or volunteers of private/non-profit organizations serving youth.  Not that the lack of statutory requirements absolves someone from doing the right thing, but it does create scenarios where internal policy is the guiding light vs. a bright line legal requirement to report.

 

Thank you for this transparency. I am not in a position of holier than thou … but this situation was bungled, and the buck stops somewhere. I am sorry to say, but it stopped with RCA. I realize that it is hard to be perfect in real time, but this was a fail. I really hope she learned from this experience and will lead SCV into a  a better, safer future. 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Jurassic Lancer

[rjohn76]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

Thank you for this transparency. I am not in a position of holier than thou … but this situation was bungled, and the buck stops somewhere. I am sorry to say, but it stopped with RCA. I realize that it is hard to be perfect in real time, but this was a fail. I really hope she learned from this experience and will lead SCV into a  a better, safer future. 

The reality is everyone involved in the marching arts activities should be learning from each and every one of these tragic events/incidents.  The activity has come a long way over the past five years, but there's always room for improvement when it comes to the overall safety of the participants.