MANCHESTER - A Lowell Mass., man facing charges that he molested six boys while working as a counselor at a summer day camp in Pelham hanged himself in his cell at the county jail, an official said Monday.[...]
C. left letters to his mother and each of six friends, O'Mara said. None of the notes gave any direct explanation for his suicide or made any assertion of innocence or guilt regarding the charges against him, he said. "There were a lot of references to biblical passages" [...] An eighth note was addressed "to all readers."
That note "makes reference to love and peace for everyone" and urges "may your hearts not be filled with sorrow," O'Mara said.
[...] C. was arrested on a war- rant Nov. 20 in Lowell, Mass., af- ter he secretly was indicted in Hillsborough County Superior Court on eight counts of felonious sexual assault.
He waived formal arraignment and pleaded innocent Nov 22. Un- able to post $25,000 bail, he was jailed while facing trial.
C. was accused of molesting six boys, from 9 to 12 years old, last July at the Pelham Playground Program day camp. He worked as one of 16 counselors at the camp at Pelham Veterans Memorial Park, but he was fired after the al- legations were reported.
The charges alleged that C. touched the boys over their cloth- ing. Two of the boys allegedly were assaulted twice, and the others once. Each charge carried a maxi- mum sentence of 3 1/2 to seven years in State Prison.