Jewish Contributions to Humanity
#40 in a series
Kuppe Case
JCC and parents reach settlement.
RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A
WEST BLOOMFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT
of Kuppe’s duties in 2014 included
settlement was reached
working with campers with special
between the Jewish
needs, many of whom are unable to
Community Center (JCC)
communicate.
and the three families whose sons’
After Kuppe’s arrest,
photos were taken and
the JCC, in cooperation
posted on a Russian
with the Jewish Federation
website by a former JCC
of Metropolitan Detroit,
day camp counselor.
initiated additional safe-
Matthew Kuppe,
guards that included
now 24, was arrested
community-wide staff
in August 2015 after
education and a specific
U. S. Department of
training series conducted
Homeland Security and
by experts in the field.
the West Bloomfield
Because the settlement
Police Department
was out-of-court, no
investigators discovered
details are available. All
he had taken nude pho-
Matthew Kuppe
parties, including the fam-
tographs of three 5- to
7-year-old JCC campers and posted ilies, the attorneys and JCC offi-
cials, declined comment about the
them on a foreign website known
case or the terms of the settlement.
to be frequented by pedophiles.
The families were represented by
One of the boys had been identi-
Farmington Hills-based attorney
fied by name on the site.
William Seikaly.
Kuppe was originally charged
The following statement was
with six felony counts that included
issued by Farmington Hills-based
production, distribution, receipt
Marx Layne, the JCC’s public rela-
and possession of child pornogra-
tions firm:
phy. Five of these charges, includ-
“The families whose lives
ing the more serious charge of
were impacted by the events that
production of child pornography,
occurred at the Jewish Community
were dropped as part of a plea
agreement. In 2016, Kuppe pleaded Center Summer Camp in 2015
have had the opportunity to meet
guilty to the charge of distribution
with the leadership of the JCC. lt
of child pornography and was sen-
tenced to 10 years in federal prison. was a meeting in the best tradi-
tions of our community wherein
The case was heard by U.S. Eastern
it was agreed that the safety of the
District Judge Avern Cohn. Kuppe
children in our community is and
is now serving his sentence in a
should always be our top priority.
Lisbon, Ohio, facility.
“While the parties recognize
An Oakland County prosecutor’s
that incidents such as the one that
investigation failed to turn up evi-
dence that Kuppe had molested any occurred at the JCC can happen
and do happen in communities
of the campers. Photos of the three
around the country, it was agreed
boys were taken in the JCC locker
that additional safeguards should
room.
be implemented to insure that, to
Following Kuppe’s arrest, three
JCC staff members — the day camp the greatest extent possible, it never
happens again.
director, assistant director and
“In light of this, the JCC and
the director of the special needs
the families have chosen to work
department — were fired after it
with one another not only to make
was learned they failed to pass on
our community a safer one, but to
information from a fellow counsel-
make the JCC operations a model
or about inappropriate conduct by
for other communities.” ■
Kuppe the previous summer. Part
Three Jews Who
Led a Revolution
in Information.
Sergey Brin
Larry Page
Larry Ellison
SERGEY BRIN (1973-). I4VZJV^9\ZZPH
Co-founder of Google.
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October 11 • 2018
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