Complaint Review: Richard Pope

SEATTLE, Wash. -- RICHARD POPE accused of molesting children is on the run.

Prosecutors say Richard Pope fondled boys and girls in the shower at a branch of the YMCA of King County, then skipped court when he got caught.

Pope, has been charged with felony child molestation, but failed to appear in court for his arraignment. And investigators don't know where he is.

News media interviewed Pope in January amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. The man, who hadn't yet been charged, denied the kids' claims.

"Right now, I'm just innocent, and it's really just a false accusation, " he said in January.

Pope worked as a volunteer at a summer camp, where he came in contact with dozens of children. Several of the children said Pope had fondled them in the shower.

One boy told his mother he was showering after swimming when "Pope came in, took hold of (the boy's) arm and touched his 'private parts'" some time in the summer of 2009, according to the report.

A girl told her mother she and her friend had both been fondled by Pope, and that "she had not reported this because she was afraid, " the report said.

And there are other cases under investigation. According to the statement of probable cause, a 10-year-old girl told a CPS employee on Aug. 21 that the counselor had "slid his hand under her butt and touched her genital area, over her clothing, " some time during June or July. The two were seated at a table and the counselor was dealing playing cards, the girl told investigators, and the touching went on for 10 or 15 seconds until she got up and walked away.

The girl told a friend what had happened, and that friend, in turn, told her own mother, the statement said, but the alleged victim's mother was unaware of the alleged abuse. The victim's mother said the girl only told her that the counselor "made her uncomfortable, " but did not mention any alleged abuse.

One child's mother said she has "cried for months about" the alleged abuse.

"What type of long-term effects is it going to have on him (my son)? No one knows, " the mother said. "I don't know how this guy slipped through the cracks, but he did."

When interviewed by detectives in August 2009, Pope denied having fondled any of the children in the shower. He added "if he ever touched anyone it was to have them stop misbehaving but 'not in a sexual way, '" the report said.

The abuse allegations surfaced in August 2009 when officials immediately suspended Pope and alerted Child Protective Services. But the officials admit the children's parents were not notified until months later.

Officials said detectives, as well as the CPS, told them to keep quiet so that frantic parents wouldn't taint the investigation. The kids should first be interviewed by experts who understand forensic techniques, they said, as untrained parents could inadvertently create false memories or repress real ones through their questioning of the events.

Authorities aren't sure whether Pope, has fled the country.