MONROVIA, Montserrado – A day after a damning article was published alleging widespread negligence of sexual assaults by an educational charity, More Than Me, a campaign has begun to seek justice for victims.
The campaign was started by Saki Golafale, a Liberian Ph.D. candidate at Clark Atlanta University in the United States. More than 500 individuals have signed the petition up to the publication of this article. It is calling for the attention of the United Nations, the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice. Notably, there are no Liberian government agencies listed.
Golafale told The Bush Chicken that the petition is an urgent call for the leadership of More Than Me to account for the reported rapes and infection of underage girls.
“I feel that it was unjust for more than me to leave underage girls in [the] care of a sexual predator after being tipped about the perpetrator’s sexual activity with minors,†he said.
Golafale said the petition is directed to U.S. authorities because More Than Me is an American charity group being run by Americans. In addition, the petitioner added that he does not trust Liberia authorities to take concrete actions.
According to the petitioner, it was under the watch of Katie Meyler, the American who runs the charity that Liberian girls between the ages of 10 and 16 were raped and infected with HIV by a close staff member, according to the report.
“While Katie knowingly allowed this evil to happen, she covered up for this sexual predator, McIntosh Johnson,†the petitioner wrote.
The petitioner added that Katie attracted millions of dollars only to protect her organization, but leave the girls unprotected.
“Please sign this petition and help us bring Katie Meyler to justice to save a generation of girls in poor countries from another sexual predator to be nurtured by this evil woman,†the petition further noted.
In addition to the academy, More Than Me operates 18 public schools under the Liberia Education Advancement Program, previously branded as the Partnership Schools for Liberia.
According to the article, jointly published by ProPublica and Time magazine, Macintosh Johnson, who had helped Katie Meyler launch the academy, abused his position of privilege by sexually assaulting many of the girls in the academy. The article recalls tales of Johnson raping students at his house, in the school building, and in the organization’s guest house. The events culminated with his arrest in 2014.
A video that accompanied the report also noted that the channels for the girls to report the rapes were compromised, as Johnson had been romantically linked to Meyler for several years, in addition to other staff members.
Featured photo screenshot of Change.org
