US charity More Than Me ‘deeply sorry’ after HIV-infected co-founder raped young girls at Liberia school
US investigative media said girls at a pioneering school in a slum had been repeatedly abused by the charity’s co-founder, Macintosh Johnson
An acclaimed US charity operating in Liberia has admitted to major failings after girls at a school set up to save them from a life of sexual exploitation were systematically raped.
“We are profoundly, deeply sorry,” the charity More Than Me said on its website on Saturday after US investigative media said girls at a pioneering school in a slum had been repeatedly abused by the charity’s co-founder, Macintosh Johnson.
Johnson eventually died of Aids and there are fears that he infected some of his victims – who were aged as young as 10 – with HIV which causes Aids, the investigative site ProPublica said in a lengthy investigative piece co-published with Time.
“To all the girls who were raped by Macintosh Johnson in 2014 and before: we failed you,” More Than Me said.
“We gave Johnson power that he exploited to abuse children. Those power dynamics broke staff ability to report the abuse to our leadership immediately.
“Our leadership should have recognised the signs earlier and we have and will continue to employ training and awareness programmes so we do not miss this again.”