Continued from How Three Men Built a Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline

Continued from How Three Men Built a Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline

We left off last night with the raw machinery: three men adding another at the tale end— John David Norman , Francis Shelden, Gerald Richards, and now Adam Starchild — each playing a part in a model that used camps, youth charities, and “missions” as fronts. Whatever their precise level of coordination (and no court has ever proven a single overarching ring), their methods rhymed.

North Fox Island wasn’t just a speck on Lake Michigan; it became the template. When the island blew up in 1976 and Richards went down for molesting at least seventeen boys, Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission rose almost overnight — rebranded as “emotional reading assistance” for troubled kids. Some of its solicitations still ran in the exact same underground magazines that had advertised North Fox Island “camp programs.”

By 1977, media walked into the mission with cameras rolling and tore the mask off. The details differed, but the pattern was identical: boys recruited with benevolent language, transported across state lines for “programs,” and harmed under the cover of charity.

What follows is **not** a conspiracy map. It makes zero claims that can’t be nailed to public record. But the patterns across Catholic dioceses, Boy Scout troops, Masonic homes, and independent “aid” groups in the Midwest show aligned vulnerabilities and recurring failures that left generations of boys profoundly at risk. Tiny threads of silk strengthening the a web of depravity. 

Sources: John Jay Reports (2004 & 2011), Illinois AG 2023, Michigan State Police files, BSA Ineligible Volunteer Files, USCCB Charter, media archives, federal & state court records. Every line is original.

Survivors: RAINN is still there — 1-800-656-HOPE.

### TIMELINE: Shadows in the Heartland (1950s–2010s)

**1950–1969: The Quiet Build-Up — Abuse Takes Root in Institutional Silence**  

John Jay baseline (1950–2002):  

• 10,667 credible allegations nationwide  

• 4,392 accused priests (≈4 % of all active clergy)  

• 81 % of victims were boys, most aged 11–14  

Catholic dioceses begin “secret archives.” Complaints are buried; priests are moved, never reported.  

Boy Scouts open the first “Ineligible Volunteer” files in the Great Lakes councils (MI/IL/OH).  

Fraternal groups and other orgs, including faiths run youth mentorship with internal discipline and confidentiality oaths.

**Echo to the three men:** Shelden’s early-1960s “youth trusts” and “educational charities” were already using the same benevolent language that would later cloak North Fox Island.

**1970–1979: The Peak Surge — Camps, Missions, and Cover-Ups Collide**  

John Jay identifies the 1970s as the absolute peak decade for clergy sexual abuse nationwide.

- **1970–1975** | Archdiocese of Chicago  

  Dozens of priests later confirmed for abuse; Cardinal Cody quietly reassigns them.

- **1971–1976** | North Fox Island (MI)  

  Shelden finances, Richards runs, Starchild advertises. Hundreds of boys flown to the island under the guise of a free nature camp. Richards convicted 1976 on multiple CSC counts.

- **1975–1977** | Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission (MI)  

  Founded months after Richards’ conviction. Advertises in the same pedophile journals exposed in the North Fox investigation.  Mission collapses under criminal probe.

- **1973–1977** | Archdiocese of Milwaukee  

  Fr. Lawrence Murphy abuses ≈200 deaf boys at St. John’s School for the Deaf. Complaints filed in the 1970s go into the secret archive.

- **BSA Midwest councils**  

  Hundreds of new ineligible-volunteer entries; many leaders quietly banned, no public notice.

**1980–1989: Cracks Appear — Delayed Disclosure Begins**  

- **1985** | Gilbert Gauthe case (Louisiana) breaks nationally. Midwest dioceses start internal reviews.  

- **1980–1985** | Archdiocese of St. Paul–Minneapolis  

  Fr. Thomas Adamson reassigned seven times despite repeated credible allegations.  

- **1980s** | Masonic Home cases surface later (e.g., Texas $6.9 M settlement in 1999), with Midwest lodges historically referring children.

**1990–1999: Lawsuits Erupt — Secret Files Open**  

- **1992** | USCCB issues first (voluntary) guidelines.  

- **1990s** | Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis hit with waves of civil suits; personnel files unsealed.  

- **1991** | LA Times exposes thousands of BSA “perversion files”; Midwest councils heavily represented.

**2000–2002: National Reckoning**  

- **2002** | Boston Globe Spotlight → USCCB Dallas Charter (mandatory background checks, zero-tolerance, lay review boards).  

- **2004** | John Jay Report confirms the vast majority of incidents occurred 1960–1985.

**2003–2020s: Disclosures, Bankruptcies, State Investigations**  

- Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul–Minneapolis publish credibly accused lists (often in phases).  

- 2015: Archdiocese of St. Paul–Minneapolis — $210 M settlement, 450+ survivors.  

- 2023: Illinois AG — 451 credibly accused clergy, 1,997 child victims since 1950 (nearly double what dioceses had admitted).

### PATTERNS — The Weave Without a Master Conspiracy

Grand juries and federal investigations have never found a single coordinated interstate trafficking ring tying the Church, the Scouts, the Masons, and the North Fox/Brother Paul’s operations together.

But the parallels are undeniable and chilling - tiny invisible silk threads building a web. 

1. **Secrecy systems** — Church secret archives, BSA ineligible files, fraternal oaths.  

2. **Reassignment culture** — Priests, scout leaders, and youth-program staff moved instead of reported.  

3. **Isolated venues** — Islands, rural camps, mission houses, boarding schools, retreat centers.  

4. **Target demographic** — Working-class boys, foster kids, altar boys, scout troops.  

5. **Decades-late justice** — Most survivors from the 1950s–1980s only spoke starting in the 1990s–2020s.

Brother Paul’s didn’t need a grand conspiracy to thrive. It just needed the same broken systems everyone else was already using.

That’s the map. That’s the wound. - there's more to come. Keep watching. 

Author's Note: I am disabled survivor using assistive technology, which changes day by day pending health - (#zebralife). For resources : RAINN or Support for Men at 1in6.org are lifelines.

I am a collateral victim of John David Norman - we are healing together.

 I do hope this helps others realize they were not ever alone. 

If any information is incorrect pls contact me or leave a comment. These are complex cases and a lot of bad information is already out there.