Open Letter to Sgt. Det. Pamela Harris of the Boston Police Department

[address redacted]
[phone redacted]

August 12, 2022

By Certified Mail
Return Receipt Requested
#9407111898765873974217

Sgt. Det. Pamela Harris
Crimes Against Children Unit
Boston Police Department
989 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215‑1308

Dear Sgt. Harris:

I have tried to reach you by phone, but I was unable to get a call back.

Briefly, on October 29, 2020, I submitted a complaint to the Suffolk County DA, Rachel Rollins, alleging that two former Charlestown residents, brothers James and Michael Power, kidnapped a group of thirteen boys, myself included, at the Jordan Gym inside the Charlestown Boys Club sometime during the last week of June and the first week of July in 1963. Based on that complaint, DA Rollins arranged a forensic interview with me on January 10, 2021 that included ADA Alissa Goldhaber, along with seven others. At the end of the interview, and after a lengthy deliberation, Det Jeffrey Firnstein told me that all eight people present “believe you” and voted to open an investigation. Following that, at the conclusion of the Zoom meeting, with obvious emotion, I begged Det. Firnstein to help me find “even a small measure of justice” in this matter. I believe Det. Firnstein did his very best to help me. And I believe everyone who was present and heard my interview genuinely wanted to help me, especially ADA Goldhaber. I now appeal to you with the same emotion.

On March 1, 2021, I contacted Victims Advocate Brittany Doherty and told her that, as of February 19, news of the investigation had been leaked to the senior members of the board of directors at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston (the Club). ADA Goldhaber responded that “no one” had been contacted by investigators at that point and asked me why I thought a leak had happened, which I then documented for her with a specific IP address that traced from my website to the residence of Michael F. Power, one of the alleged perpetrators, at 156 Hunters Run Drive in Aiken SC on March 5, 2021. This notification prompted Det. Firnstein to immediately begin contacting the people named in my letter of complaint, whose contact info I had also provided to Det. Firnstein. However, ADA Goldhaber made a decision not to contact the two individuals I named as possible victims because, based on her experience, which I obviously respected, sometimes, she said, child victims of a sexual assault may become so distraught speaking about it as to “overdose,” according to ADA Goldhaber. However, the opposing attorneys, who I believe to be the Foley Hoag firm, had no problem whatsoever contacting the other possible victims, months after the investigation became inactive, which is confirmation that the evidence I provided was also leaked to the Club, not just news of the investigation but actual details that I provided in writing. Please note that I never disclosed the names of other victims to anyone other than the DA’s office, ever, and not since!

After contacting the two alleged perpetrators, which required repeated and persistent efforts, Det. Firnstein told me that Michael Power refused to answer any questions, that he hired an attorney, and that the answers provided by both that attorney and James seemed constructed and rehearsed inasmuch as they both used the same or similar terms and phrases, according to Det. Firnstein. In addition, Det. Firnstein contacted Edmund Moussally, whom I identified as the assistant camp director in 1963. Previously, in December of 2000, I spoke by phone with Mr. Moussally and he remembered me well as a “tall skinny kid with a lot of freckles.” Then, at around the same time, before Christmas that year, I met with him at the Food Court in the Pru Center, and Mr. Moussally told me that he knew about the assault I alleged in my letter of complaint to DA Rollins and that one of the perpetrators was named “James.” When I went public with this information, Mr. Moussally became concerned and stopped cooperating with me, but he still later told Boston Globe reporter Jamal Watson that the assault “may have happened.” However, Det. Firnstein contacted Mr. Moussally in March 2020, after news of the investigation had already been linked [sic] and the alleged perpetrators had already been contacted by the camp attorneys. According to Det. Firnstein, Mr. Moussally said he “knew nothing about it” and, most importantly, never told me otherwise.

I believe that Mr. Moussally and both of the Power brothers were all forewarned and then manipulated or intimidated, which resulted in a compromised investigation.

I am now going public with my allegations and with the facts and contentions I have presented to you in this letter.

The only way left for me to proceed in this matter is for me to speak out much more publicly than I have in the past in the hope that doing so will bring forward someone who was raped alongside of me in the Jordan Gym that summer in 1963. I believe the public must know that I need this corroboration in order for me to bring it forward. At least one other victim, who remains anonymous, has already contacted me and provided details of the numerous surgeries he underwent as a result of the mutilations he suffered. But according to his own statement, he fears that coming forward more publicly will cause harm to him and his family. Notwithstanding that difficulty, I believe my going public will bring forward other victims who will help me bring James and Michael Power to justice.

It has been my experience in the past that victims are more comfortable speaking with authorities than with fellow victims. I also believe that a police presence may help to mollify any fear that a victim may feel about coming forward. Therefore, I am writing to ask for the name and phone number of a person to contact within the Boston Police Crimes Against Children Unit. I do not expect many calls, and all I need is one. Given that ADA Goldhaber told me that the DA’s office never closes investigations, though they may become inactive, I would expect that you have some protocol for this exact situation, when both the original contacts, Brittany Doherty and Det. Jeff Firnstein, are no longer available.

Given the severity of the crime I have alleged and the resulting mutilations that more than one child suffered and, in my case, continue to suffer, I can only presume that the person in the highest position at CACU would have compassion for the victims of this crime and that you would help in this small way. I would be very grateful for your earliest reply.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
/s/
James Chester