Maine
Maine OUT Organization Accused of Pedophilia
By Mike Hein
Jan 24, 2007 - 2:30:29 PM

SOME OF THIS MATERIAL IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR YOUNG READERS.  WE REGRET THE NEED TO PUBLISH THIS INFORMATION AT ALL.  HOWEVER, THE DAYS IN WHICH WE LIVE REQUIRE IT.

The letter that is referenced in this article has been surrendered to the Augusta Police Department, and we await the public release of the letter from the proper authorities pending their investigation.  The letter contains serious accusations of a potentially criminal nature of specific individuals by name.

Letter to Mike Heath from Mr. Adam Flanders

On Tuesday, January 16th, the League staff received a letter addressed to Executive Director Mike Heath from a Belfast, Maine resident, Mr. Adam E. Flanders.  In the letter, Mr. Flanders alleges several specific crimes having been committed over the last year by adult and minor members of the organization “Out As I Want to Be.” The organization was headquartered at 501 Main Street in Rockland, Maine until recently. 

Chief among the illegal activity alleged was that sexual activity between adult organization advisors and minor members of the organization has occurred.  Additionally, Mr. Flanders alleges that sexual activity between adults in the community not directly affiliated with the group and minor members of the organization has occurred.

Mr. Flanders’ letter opens in part, “You have my permission to use these documents in any form you wish…and it is my single hope that you will expose much of the information concerning OUT [as I want to be] to the vast public of Maine…”  He then goes on to relate the history of the organization and his leadership role (until recently) in it. 

He states, “During my time at OUT meetings, my boyfriend and I would oftentimes sneak down ..."  The rest of this sentence is too graphic to be included here.

Mr. Flanders, now 20, criticizes the organization’s adult advisors for allegedly not chaperoning the organization’s members, many of whom are minors.  He states that cigarette and marijuana smoking and alcohol drinking by minors regularly occurred and was known to have occurred by the adult advisors. 

He recounts one especially troubling event, the celebration on the evening of the day of the vote to defeat the People’s Veto, Question 1.  “The celebration was in Thomaston and I remember being touched and even groped by one of the older men there (who was clearly intoxicated), and I’ve heard that other youth had similar experiences,” writes Mr. Flanders. “OUT [adult] advisors were also getting drunk and flirting with youth members.”

Mr. Flanders then recounts another event at the home of one of the organization’s adult advisors.  He writes, “I once spent the night at one of the advisor’s homes with another youth member who was also his nephew up from Florida.  [The nephew] and I engaged in minor sexual contact that night, though I awoke to find the two of them showering together outside, completely in the nude.  In my personal opinion, it is highly inappropriate for [this] adult advisor in his thirties to be showering nude with a youth, age 14 at the time.”

He then wrote about the now former president of the organization.  Mr. Flanders writes regarding [that person's] removal from the organization, “I was not entirely surprised – I recall the stories he told to OUT members, affectionate stories from Greek literature about young boys having sexual relations with older men and open jokes about pedophilia at meetings…”

Mr. Flanders ends the letter reflecting upon the harm this organization is doing in Rockland and the surrounding communities.  He writes, “…I’ve had time to reflect on the horrors of this organization and how much influence it has on the Rockland community and beyond – especially impressionable youth – youth who are encouraged by OUT [adult] advisors to disobey their parents and develop their [Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender] orientation.  OUT hands out condoms and lubricant like candy…I appreciate your time and hope you will consider my words seriously with the utmost concern for the welfare of Maine’s children.”

On Thursday, January 18, the Rockland, Belfast, and Augusta Police Departments were contacted and notified about this letter and the allegations by Mr. Flanders.  The Augusta Police Department sent an officer to the League office building to take possession of the letter.  He stated that there will be a police report filed by the Augusta Police Department regarding the letter.  He said additionally that most likely an Augusta Police Department detective would determine whether the letter would be forwarded to the Rockland Police Department (where the OUT organization’s office was located, and where the alleged criminal activity occurred) or to the Maine State Attorney General’s office for an investigation.

Adam Flander's Image Creation

Both Belfast Police Chief Jeff Trafton and Augusta Police Chief Wayne McCamish sent separate email responses stating that they had read Mr. Flanders letter (which was sent to them as scanned images by email attachment) and both stated that their respective Police Departments would most likely not have jurisdiction in investigating the allegations.

Mr. Flanders has previously interacted directly and indirectly with the League in both 2005 and 2006.  He spoke at a public hearing of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee in favor of the enactment of a bill (later passed by the Legislature) in March, 2005 to extend Maine’s Human Rights Act to include gays and lesbians. 

Mr. Flanders later commented publicly in opposition to the People’s Veto effort, spearheaded by the League, supporting the ‘No on 1’ effort to allow that same law to be enacted.   That public event was publicized by Maine Won't Discrimate's organizer, Ted O'Meara.

More directly and recently in 2006, Mr. Flanders digitally altered online images of Mike Heath’s wife, Paulie, on the Amazon bookstore website so that they appeared grotesque and disfigured.  He has since acknowledged his role in that incident (chronicled in the League’s Record online newspaper and at Mike Heath's personal blog).  This week, Mr. Flanders apologized to Heath personally by phone for the incident and Heath was quick to extend forgiveness to him.