Top official sexually abused us, 6 men say

The college president has not been charged with any crime.
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- Six men said the longtime president of Mercyhurst College had inappropriate sexual contact with them when they were minors, mostly while he was coaching basketball at a private high school, a newspaper reported.
The Erie Times-News detailed the allegations in Sunday editions against Mercyhurst President William P. Garvey, who has been at the school's helm for 24 years. Garvey, 68, has not been charged with any crime.
"I do not believe that it is appropriate to discuss fictitious and unsubstantiated accounts or events and, therefore, I have no comment," Garvey told the newspaper in a letter.
One of the accusers, Chuck Rosenthal, first raised allegations against Garvey in a June 2002 column in the Los Angeles Times.
Book
In his memoir "Never Let Me Go," which was released Oct. 1, Rosenthal said he was abused by Garvey when Garvey coached basketball for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Erie.
The school said the allegations against Garvey in the book were not true.
Rosenthal, 53, who lives near Los Angeles, doesn't identify Garvey by name in the column or in the book. Instead, he uses pseudonyms.
"These events happened," Rosenthal told the Times-News. "I am not making any of that up."
The book is listed as a work of fiction by its publisher, Red Hen Press. Officials said it was listed as fiction because it contains fake names.
Three other men said they were abused by Garvey while he was a coach. The two other men also told the newspaper that Garvey paid them for sexual acts when they were minors in the mid-1980s.
All the men told the newspaper the allegations involved inappropriate touching or sexual acts but not intercourse.
Coach
Garvey coached at St. John's school until 1977. He began working at Mercyhurst in 1962 and has been its president since 1980.
The college said it is investigating the matter and would comment later this week.
"Over the next 24 hours, representatives of the board and I will formulate and initiate a process to address and respond to the matters raised in Sunday's article in a manner that gives due regard and respect for all persons concerned," Marlene Mosco, chairwoman of the college's board of trustees, said in a statement Sunday.
Mercyhurst College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college that was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1926. It has an enrollment of about 3,100 students.
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