By William Young
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
For roughly 20 years, John Levendosky II led Boy Scout
troops into the woods for camping excursions and chances to
earn merit badges, but a camping trip he took three boys on
last weekend has landed him in jail.
Levendosky, 52, of East First Avenue in Derry, was charged
with corruption of minors, simple assault, endangering the
welfare of children and related charges and put in the
Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bond. The
Greater Westmoreland Fayette Council suspended Levendosky
from his position as assistant Scoutmaster.
State police said Levendosky used the camping trip in
Fairfield Township as a way to get the three boys to strip
naked, spank each other and cavort about in various stages
of dress.
Troopers also said Levendosky, who told authorities he
planned the weekend because he has always been fascinated by
bondage and servitude, bound and blindfolded the boys at
various times.
And it's likely that no one would have found out if one
boy's parents hadn't noticed the letter "T" carved into his
chest.
"The actor went to great pains to swear the kids to
secrecy," state police Sgt. William Krulac said Tuesday
morning, hours after arresting Levendosky. "He did not
sexually assault them and the kids were not seriously hurt,
but it was a very bizarre episode."
When the mother of one of the children was informed by
another boy's mother what happened during the overnight
camping trip, she was shocked.
"I'm very upset. Just to know I dropped him off and didn't
think to question (Levendosky)," the mother said. "I'm
disappointed with myself."
The Tribune-Review is not identifying the victims because of
the nature of the alleged events.
"I thought they were going to learn to hike, maybe get a
patch for learning something," the mother said, adding that
she did not know Levendosky well but that he had always
seemed like a nice man. "I didn't have any foresight into
this. I didn't see it coming."
From the get-go, Troop 303's camping trip violated Boy Scout
policy. The policy requires two adults to be present at any
activity, but Levendosky was the only adult present.
Court records show that once Levendosky and the three boys
got to their campsite on Friday, he instructed the boys to
learn five different codes, with each code denoting a
differing level of undress.
After taking the boys out for pizza, Levendosky returned to
the campsite and had each of the boys strip naked and pose
in 10 positions, according to court documents.
Later in the day, Levendosky bound each boy's hands together
with rope and blindfolded each with an Ace bandage.
Levendosky then tied each boy to a separate tree, suspending
them by their hands.
It was then, according to court records, that Levendosky
used a folding knife to carve the letter "T" into each boy's
chest, at one point causing one of the boys to moan, "I
can't take this anymore."
Additionally, the boys were required to play strip poker,
paddle each other while nude, and sleep naked with their
hands bound, court documents show.
The next day, Levendosky packed up camp and took the boys
back to his home, where he allowed them to watch "Porky's,"
a raunchy comedy about high school kids in 1950s Florida.
When state troopers raided Levendosky's home early yesterday
morning, they found pornographic materials and a three-page
document detailing precisely what Levendosky planned to do
to the boys. It included the phrase, "I mark you with the T
of Trust and Training."
State police said that under questioning, Levendosky
admitted to the activities described by the Scouts.
http://triblive.com/news/gsct0614.html
Westmoreland News - June 14, 2000
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