While the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking drama continues to unfold on the national stage, local communities in the Catskills—from Saugerties to Woodstock to Earlton—are contending with their own troubling cases of sexual exploitation.
Saugerties is facing two significant matters. In one case, a town police officer has been charged with multiple felony counts alleging he engaged in sexual acts with a female minor. In the other, a man who worked as a custodian at Saugerties High School and volunteered as a wrestling coach has been charged with 18 counts of felony rape, following allegations of sexual conduct with two underage girls.
In Woodstock, the situation is different but still deeply concerning. Town Supervisor Bill McKenna has declined to follow a July 22 vote by the majority of the Town Board to terminate a convicted sex offender hired earlier this year as a town maintenance worker.
And in Greene County earlier this week, two counselors at Tranquility Children’s Camp in Earlton were arrested and charged with promoting and possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child.
The Epstein case has captured national attention in part due to the Trump administration’s reversal on its earlier promise to release Department of Justice files related to Epstein. This sparked backlash, even from some of the president’s MAGA allies, who for years have claimed that suppressing these records amounts to a cover-up protecting America’s elite.
And that brings us back to the cases unfolding here in the Catskills.
Like Epstein, these local perpetrators held positions of power and used that power to exploit the vulnerable. From elite financiers to small-town police officers, coaches, and camp counselors, the pattern is unmistakable: those entrusted with the care of young people too often violate that trust.
We must ask: Why does this continue to happen? Why do our institutions allow it? And what will it take to break this cycle of violence?
While it’s commendable that town boards and school leaders issue statements and take votes of condemnation, that alone is not enough. Our institutions must go further. They must stop shielding abusers and send a clear message: If you harm children, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Local leaders have a duty to be vigilant and to communicate openly with the citizens who elected them. Too often, the very institutions we trust—schools, camps, churches, governments—are silent, complicit, or both.
The Catholic Church’s long and painful reckoning with sexual abuse by clergy is a sobering example. From Boston to Buffalo to Baltimore, we’ve seen a disturbing pattern: abusers shuffled between parishes, victims silenced, and apologies issued decades too late.
We cherish small-town life in the Catskills and value the friendships we build with neighbors. But that closeness must not lead us to protect “one of our own” at the expense of a victim. Too often, we worry more about the town’s reputation than the harm done to a survivor.
Let’s take seriously what’s happened recently in Saugerties, Woodstock, and Earlton. If we do, we’ll build stronger, safer communities for everyone.
For those in need of support, local resources include:
- Family of Woodstock: 845-679-2485
- Ulster County Crime Victims Assistance Hotline: 845-340-3442
- Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties Hotline: 888-943-4482
Scott Widmeyer is co-founder of The Overlook. Reach him at scott@theoverlooknews.com.
