Word: washburn
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Around Harvard, and indeed around much of Boston, the incident seems to have been accepted as something very unfortunate that now is best forgotten. No one likes to see someone as successful and privileged as Washburn fall into an unspeakably ugly situation. This man had everything going for him. He was the scion of a prominent Boston family, a member of Harvard's Class of 1964, a coxswain of a gold medal-winning Olympic crew team, and a respected coach at a prestigious preparatory school as well as Harvard. What more could a man ask of his society? Washburn asked...
...EXPLANATION for Washburn's light sentence seems to be that imprisoning one capable of contributions as great as those Washburn may yet make would be a disservice to society. The Middlesex County court was innundated with letters from prominent Bostonians--and 30 from Harvard students--praising Washburn as a wonderful man. His father, curator of the Museum of Science for more than 40 years and well-known philanthropist, is a wonderful man too. Why should such a family suffer? Haven't they already suffered enough? The heart just bleeds...
This is not the first instance of Washburn's mistreating minors. The charges on which Washburn was convicted involve students who did not attend Buckingham, Browne and Nichols. Before the case came to trial, Washburn resigned his BB&N post after admiting he had encouraged boys in his classes to masturbate and look at pornographic magazines. Perhaps those who wrote in Washburn's behalf don't think there is anything wrong with a teacher behaving in such a way. And why should they? Masturbation is just an exercise in growing up, and it is unfortunate only that every 13 year...
After all, Washburn did not actually do violence to any of the children (any of the children at BB&N, that is). Maybe that's why BB&N administrators didn't investigate the matter or inform the state or the parents of students not directly involved. It would have been unfortunate to involve the state in the affairs of a school like BB&N or of a man like Edward Washburn. And the state apparently agrees--judging from the slap on the wrist it gave Washburn when finally forced...
Once the charges were brought against Washburn and he had entered a plea of guilty, he was relieved of his duties at Harvard and very quietly prosecuted. This was no normal defendant...