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mer of 2014.
A statement issued by JCC spokes-
person Michael Layne acknowledged
that members of the JCC Day Camps
supervisory staff had been terminated
for failing to act on a previous 2014
complaint about Kuppe being "overly
touchy" with campers, tickling and
poking them.
The counselor who made the com-
plaint also expressed concern that
Kuppe frequently took male children
to the bathroom alone, despite being
advised not to do so in accordance
with camp policy.
The government's brief explained
the "grooming" process many child
predators engage in, ingratiating
themselves to gain trust among their
victims as well as fellow employees
and supervisors.
According to Woodward's docu-
ment, "the (JCC) management did
not find the complaints credible and
failed to act on them ... not because
the JCC does not value the safety of
the children in its summer camp; it
is because the defendant presented to
adults as highly accomplished, trust-
worthy and completely appropriate.
Defendant successfully manipulated
his employers, making it impossible
for them to believe that he is sexually
interested in young boys."

Parents' Letters

STATE REPRESENTATIVE
www.KlintKesto.com

39TH DISTRICT

Please call my office toll free at

(855) KESTO-39

with any questions or email me at klintkesto@gmail.co

22 September 10 • 2015

JN

Parents of the three boys identified
in the photos posted online wrote
letters to U.S. District Judge Avern
Cohn, who will preside over Kuppe's
trial, poignantly describing the trau-
matic effects Kuppe's alleged actions
have had on their families and asking
Cohn to deny the defense attorney's
motion to release Kuppe.
"The images of our son which
include his name, which were sent to
a Russian website known to attract
pedophiles and sexual predators
cannot be retracted or erased now
that they have been shared digitally,"
wrote the parents of the boy who was
identified by name online. "There

is no telling who, beyond the agents
involved in this case, has accessed
and saved those pictures, or where
additional copies are now freely cir-
culating.
"When our son is old enough to
understand this, we will have to look
him in the eye and tell him that there
are stolen, pornographic images of
him available on the Internet. This
dreaded conversation is one which no
parent should ever have to prepare to
have with their child:"
The other parents expressed similar
sentiments, chiding Piszczatowski for
his argument at Kuppe's detention
hearing, where he described his client
as a "model citizen" and suggest the
photos may have been "child erotica"
rather than pornography.
Two of the letters also mentioned
the parents' dismay that Kuppe's
alleged actions have cast the JCC, a
longstanding and highly regarded
community institution, under a cloud
of mistrust.
"Mr. Kuppe's actions have single-
handedly created suspicion and mis-
trust for this institution, which has
endured with an unblemished reputa-
tion for decades — far longer than his
life thus far:'
Other parents in the community
have expressed similar sentiments.
"I personally feel disgusted with
the choices made by the director and
special needs director [of the JCC day
camp program], but feel inspired by
the whistleblower and Jim Issner [JCC
executive director], who seems to be
doing his very best to remedy a hor-
rible situation:' said Darcee Matlen
of West Bloomfield, the mother of a
child with special needs who attended
the JCC day camp.
At press time, Cohn had not ruled
on the motion to rescind the deten-
tion order and release Kuppe to the
custody of his parents. Kuppe was
charged with six felony counts of
child pornography, to which he plead-
ed not guilty on Aug. 27. A trial date
has not been scheduled yet.

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