From: Chris Humphrey To: invegfitvhotljnefemer TD 0 Ce: Tania Humphrey Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2018 3 PM Subject: Child Sextual Abuse Investigation Request Dear Mercy Corps Ethics Team, My name is Christopher Humphrey. My wife is Tania Culver (now Tania Humphrey), the daughter ofMercy Corps CurFounder Ellsworth Culver. I recently came across news articles reporting on sex abuse cases related to nonegovernment relief organizations. In several of these articles I discovered that Mercy Corps had investigated recent allegations involving its own staff. I learned that Mercy Corps has been trying to be proactive and a leader in investigating current and past cases involving sexual misconduct and ethical violations of its staff I contact you today to inform you ofa sexual abuse investigation that Mercy Corps and it's Board of Directors were involved in in the early 1990's. I would like to request you review that case to ensure that it was handled in conformance with Mercy Corps current ethics policy and investigative processes. The case involved child abuse allegations that my wife (Tania Culver) made against her father (Ellsworth Culver). Essentially my wife had reported that Ellsworth Culver had sexually abused her as a child. The Mercy Corps/Board investigation occurred between 1992 and 1994. My wife has a number of documents and correspondence concerning this investigation, but not everything that Mercy Corps or its board members generated. At the time, Mercy Corps had obtained a number of my wife's medical records; we are not sure which records Mercy Corps obtained, who in the Mercy Corps organization had access to these records, or what was done with them. There were also a number of interviews/depositions that Mercy Corps completed, some involving Tania's teachers and medical providers (and others); my wife was never informed or provided information about the content or scope of these interviews. She was also never officially informed about any conclusions or fallowe up actions. Again, I would like to request that the Ethics Team complete a review of this case and provide a conclusion about if the investigation meets your current ethical standards. I would also like you to provide information about which medical records Mercy Corps obtained, who had access to these records, and what is currently being done with them. I do understand that you cannot provide this information over email correspondence, and that my wife should be fully involved with this inquiry and request (which she is, she is Cc on this email). But for now, I would like to know if you would be willing to look further into this case. Respectfully, Christopher Humphrey From: Jeremiah Centrella From Chr'w Humphrey Sent: Monday. November 19, 2018 10:36 PM To: Jeremiah Centrella <1centrella@mem3'coggsrorg> Cc: Integrity Hetlme Barnes Ellis Subject: . Child Sextual Abuse Investigation Request Dear Mr. Centrella, Thank yen for your respense and your willingness to leek further into this case. As a little background informatien, my wife did not initiate the eriginal Mercy Cerps investigatien. Mercy Cm'ps discovered the reported abuse through a second hand report. Hewever, the resulting investigation had a prefound impact on her life. Much ef her family estracized her as a result ofthe investigation and her reporting the abuse from her father. They treated her as an eutright liar, or as simply confused abeut what really happened. To this day her family largely rejects her. It has taken her many years to emetionally recover from the investigation and regain a sense of safety, and te start facing what her father did to her. She is still trying te heal, and contacting you new is part ef that healing process. That said, she would like te assist yen in filling in some of the gaps in the investigatien, providing that she doesn't feel like she's en trial. I think it would be helpful to know how you plan to go about this review, and what kind efinformatien yeu need from my wife. We are also interested in gaining infermation about what really happened back then, and what Mercy Corps disaevered and concluded about her father's aatiens. Again, during the original investigation her life was spun eut of her aentrel, and no one weuld give her any information about what was happening or what peeple were saying abeut her. I don't want that to happen again. Regards, Chris Humphrey From: Barnes Ellis To: hue Humphrey Cc: eremiah Centrells <1centrella'19mercycomiotg> Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2018 9:35 AM Subject: RE: Child Sextual Abuse Investigation Request As Jeremiah stated in his email yesterday, he has asked me to follow up with you on your inquiry. I think it would be helpful for us to discuss just what it is that you think Mercy Corps can do now to help your wife gain elosure on whatever occurred between her and her father and her family some 24 years ago. I would be willing to meet with you personally, although I do not even know where you are located. Ifa personal meeting at this point is impractical we could try to discuss this hy telephone. I can assure you there is no interest here in relitigatiug the underlying events. Let me know. Barnes Ellis BARNES Hr ELLIS Senior legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary MERCY I cell-- Anlceny Street Portland 01197204 Powered by the belief that a better world is Join us at mom songs org hank 'l'uiur. From: Chris Humphrey -- To: Barn Ellis (bellit (mercycogg. irg>; Jerem l1 CentrelL'd nrg> lntegnt Hotline Cc: Tania Humphre Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 018 11.. AM Subject: Re: Child Sexual Abuse Investigation Request Dear Messrs. Centrella and Ellis, As stated in my first email, I would like to request that the Ethics Team complete a review of this case and provide a conclusion about if the original investigation meets your ethical standards. This issue has to do with how Mercy Corps and its Board conducted this child sexual ahuse investigation in the 1990's, and determining if it meets your ethical standards (then and now). We do live in Portland, and are ahle to meet with you and members of your Ethics Team, provided that Mercy Corps is truly interested in pursuing this request. Again, we have a number <Front Chr'w Humphrey Sent: Mooda, . November 26, 2018 1:37 PM To: Barnes Ellm From: Barnes Ellis To: Chris Humphrey Jeremiah Centrella Cc: Tania Humphrey 9) Sent: Monday. November 26, 2018 1:48 PM Subject: RE: Child Sexual Abuse Investigation Request You mentioned that yeu and your wife have some deeuinents relating to your request. We would like to review those. If yeu are uncomfortable sending them via email please mail copies or drop Copies off here at MC. Thank you. Barnes Ellis BARNES H. ELLIS Senior Igga| (tsuusrl and ('urpurat: MERCY comps you errd by rite hEhL-hhal a hcttu' wur|d is possinlr .loin us at moment a mg I . 'l'uiur. From: Chris Humphrey To: Barnes Ellis From: Barnes Ellis To- Humphre Tania Humphrey Cc Jeremiah Centrella <1centrella'fllmercycomsrorg> Sent: Monday. December 4, 2018 4:18 PM Subject: FW: Humphreys lener Attachments: Humphreys Attached is formal response to your previous inquiries. Jeremiah and I would he willing (0 meet with one or both of you to discuss if you would like to do so. Let us kuuw if that would be of interest and ifso what times would work for you. Barnes Ellis BARNES H. ELLIS Srnmi- lcfia| (touusrl and i'urooi-nrr roll-- surrl porrlnudox 9720.: you by rho hnhL-hhal a hcttu' wur|d is possihlr .ioin us at rum-ion. 4 mg urohonk incl MERCY CORPS December 4, 1018 Mr. chris Humphrey Mrs. Tania Culver Humphrey -- Fenland, Oregon 57213 Dear Mr, and Mrs. Humphrey, Following receipt of Mr. Humphrey's November 17, 2012 inquiry, and hisfoiiow-up emaiisdated November 19 and 20, 2013, Mercy Corps has made a thorough review of its files and has requested the board members who reviewed this matter in 199A to reviewtheir personal and law firm files. Based on this review we believe that any agency or board memberfiles regarding this matter no longerexist. Without full information and documentation, it is very difficult for usto provide any meaningful review ofthis matter or how it was handled. That said, we have discussed the matter with the Mercy Corps directors who conducted the 199A review. They have advised that Mrs. Humphreys claims were reviewed carefully by them, including intemiews ofthen Ms. Culver, her mother, her analyst, her father, some of her earlier teachers, and an expert on recovered memory. Mr. Culver voluntarily underwent a lie detector test. They believe they made every effort to look into and understand the facts. One ofthe Board members was a with extensive relevamexperience. Based on their review they concluded that there was insufficient evidence to require any furtheraction by Mercy Corps. We would be willing to discuss this with you in person ifyou wish. Sincerely, Global Huadquurlen d: sw Anm snati immeifmnt-l B7: -- . "3 arnes H. Ellis Senior Legal Counsel )Eumpeun Heudquunlrs momma nilnnd UK .M lei odz slao oi .44 var sat out; lax Wuann'nn, nc cuise mercycorps.org From: Chris Humphrey Date: December 9, 2018 at 11:42:41 PM PST To: Barnes Ellis , Jeremiah Centrella , Integrity Hotline Cc: Tania Humphrey Subject: Re: Child Sexual Abuse Investigation Request Reply-To: Chris Humphrey Dear Mr. Ellis, We received your December 4, 2018 letter which was attached to your email of the same date (both attached here for reference). We were very much surprised (actually, shocked) that Mercy Corps and its Board Members did not have any records of this Child Sexual Abuse Investigation, especially since it involved the President of Mercy Corps at the time, Mr. Ellsworth Culver. It is at least fortunate that Mr. O'Neill, Mr. Newell and Dr. Vath all confirmed that they had completed such an investigation on behalf of Mercy Corps. In your letter you stated that without full information and documentation it would be very difficult to provide any meaningful review of this matter or how it was handled. However, we feel strongly that you already have more than enough information to continue with this inquiry in order to determine if the original investigation was carried out in an ethical manner. The following are just a few of the questions/paths we feel you can pursue now (we have included some additional information you may not already have): o The investigation involved serious allegations of child sexual abuse committed by Ellsworth Culver (the Mercy Corp President), and the two year investigation was conducted by a select Committee of your Board. However, you stated that you can find no records at all related to this investigation. Why are there no records? o o The Board Committee included three members, all of them were very close friends and colleagues of the man being investigated. The Board Committee was clearly not impartial. In fact, the outcome of the investigation itself would likely have impacted the committee members, either professionally or personally. The selection of this committee does not appear to meet ethical standards. o Board Committee members used their personal letterheads in their correspondence, rather than using official Mercy Corps letterhead. If this was a Board approved committee, why didn't the committee members use the official Mercy Corps letterhead? o o Your letter stated that "one of the Board Members was a psychiatrist with extensive relevant experience." This Board member is presumably Dr. Vath. What was Dr. Vath's ethical/legal obligations to report the alleged sexual abuse? o Mr. Newell originally set up Tania's deposition for June 4, 1993 at the Riverside Inn conference room. He sent a "Personal & Confidential" letter to Tania, and Cced Mr. O'Neill and Dr. Vath, confirming this meeting (again, using Davis Wright Tremaine letterhead). This meeting was eventually rescheduled and occurred at the Davis Wright Tremaine office. It appears that Mr. Newell reserved the Riverside Inn conference room prior to sending the letter. Who paid the deposit for this conference room space; was it Mercy Corps, Davis Wright Tremaine, or Mr. Newell himself? o You indicated that you had interviewed Mr. O'Neill, Mr. Newell and Dr. Vath and they had no records. However, they only represented the select Board Committee in charge of the investigation. Such a committee would need to have been approved by the entire Board. Were other board members at the time aware of this investigation, and if so, do they have records related to this investigation, such as formal reports with recommendations from the committee? o In your letter you stated that the Mercy Corps directors (presumed to be Mr. O'Neill, Mr. Newell and Dr. Vath) "have advised that Mrs. Humphreys [then Ms. Culver] claims were reviewed carefully by them, including interviews of then Ms. Culver, her mother, her analyst, her father, some of her earlier teachers, and an expert on recovered memory. Mr. Culver voluntarily underwent a lie detector test. They believe they made every effort to look into and understand the facts." Again, this seem like a very substantial investigation, and the lack of any records is concerning. Did the directors report the substance of these interviews to you, or even the results of the lie detector test (who completed it, etc.)? Who was the expert on recovered memory? Also, did the directors mention the following: ? That they had obtained and reviewed medical records, originating years prior to the investigation, where Tania reported to her nurses and doctors that her father had sexually abused her? These medical records included information on family meetings where her father's abuse was discussed. ? ? ? Tania remembers that at least some Mercy Corps employees were also interviewed by the Committee. Some of these individuals may still be employed with Mercy Corps. Did the Committee Members mention that they also interviewed Mercy Corps employees? ? The "analyst" you noted in your letter actually provided information to the committee by way of letter. Tania was copied on this letter. In the letter the analyst states that "Tania exhibits most of the identified effects consistent with one traumatized at an early age by sex abuse, physical and emotional abuse." The analyst reported that some of her memories included: fondling of her crotch area, fondling of her breast/chest at an early age, anal rape, being forced to kiss her father over and over on the lips with some tongue involvement (by him) as an elementary school child, objects being inserted into her vagina, being tied to a bed, etc. The analyst provided a detailed list of 13 symptoms that Tania had that were consistent with adults molested as children. The analyst also expressed significant concern about how the Mercy Corps investigation was impacting Tania, stating that Tania "continues to have problems with boundaries and in protecting herself", and "Tania is exceedingly trusting at times and has been hurt deeply by people who had other priorities". ? These and other data were apparently not considered significant by the Board Committee. In addition to other documents we know the Committee was aware of, Tania has additional substantial evidence against her father that may have been available to the committee. o At the end of the investigation, Mr. Culver 'resigned' as Mercy Corps President, Mercy Corps was reorganized, and Mr. Neal Keny-Guyer was brought on for the newly created CEO role. Mercy Corps reassigned Mr. Culver to the Senior Vice President position. In a letter to Tania, Dr. Vath suggests that these changes were at least in part the result of the findings that came from the investigation. Although he doesn't directly mention the reported sexual abuse, Dr. Vath states that other "problems" and "dysfunction" were discovered during the investigation related to her father; specifically related to his conduct at Mercy Corps. He states, "As we explored your complaints, we looked for similar mistreatment of the organization and as might be expected, a person who creates a dysfunctional family, will be a dysfunction influence in an organization". As a reminder, Tania's "complaints" were about sexual abuse. He suggests that the changes at Mercy Corps, along with other actions taken, were the Board's "redemptive approach to problems". Was any of this documented in Mercy Corps records, either associated with the Mercy Corps restructuring or in Mr. Culver's personal employment records? These are just some of the questions you can start investigating. We realize that this may be a lot to take in, but this is why we feel that the Ethics Team needs to investigate this complaint thoroughly. We were a little disappointed how cryptic your letter to us was. As you may be aware, we feel cautious about how much information we give Mercy Corps at any given time. We realize that our complaint involves founding members of Mercy Corps and other top senior level Board Members. One of our big concerns with the original investigation is that the Board, at the time, may have tried to minimized information supporting Tania's allegations in an attempt to protect Mr. Culver and the Mercy Corps name. We were very hopeful that Mercy Corps had changed, especially when we reviewed your new Code of Conduct Policies. We realize that Mercy Corps would not want to be reminded of (or informed of) possible past missdeeds by it's Board, but we hoped that the 'New' Mercy Corps would embrace it's promise to its donors and the public to ensure that the highest ethical standards are maintained and enforced at all times. The lack of detail in your letter was concerning. You never mentioned that our report was directed to the Ethics Team, you didn't mention the nature of our complaint or that it was related to an investigation of alleged child sexual abuse, you didn't reference our informative November 27th email, and you didn't even mention the committee members by name. You never even commented about if you thought the lack of records was ethically concerning. Lastly, you simply reiterated the committee members potentially bias verbal findings, without questioning their validity, even while acknowledging you don't have any records at all to back up their claims. We hope this is not a reflection on Mercy Corps commitment to full disclosure of past wrong doings. We have officially made an ethics complaint to the Mercy Corps Ethics Team. We have requested numerous times that our complaint be investigated and reported on using your Code of Conduct Policies. We strongly feel that we have a valid complaint. We have been willing to assist Mercy Corps in this investigation. Tania's father sexually abused her as a child. Mercy Corps investigated and obtained substantial evidence of the abuse. Currently, all we can confirm is that three of Mercy Corps' senior board members, all close friends of Tania's father, completed an investigation, possibly without the rest of Mercy Corps knowing about it, and quietly made it disappear. This is what your letter, and our documents, suggests. We believe that Mercy Corps has an ethical obligation to fully investigate and document what occurred. Christopher & Tania Humphrey