Review: Mercy Corps Mishandled Abuse Claims Against Founder

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Global humanitarian aid group Mercy Corps says an investigation found mistakes by some of its leaders in handling sexual abuse complaints that a daughter of one of its founders made against the man.

The group on Wednesday issued the results of an outside investigation into its mishandling of the complaints, concluding some of its leaders made “missteps, mistakes in judgment and governance lapses.”

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the Mercy Corps board of directors ordered the inquiry after the newspaper published the findings of a 10-month investigation that showed executives had allowed co-founder Ellsworth Culver to remain in a top position after his daughter had gone to them in the early 1990s with credible sexual abuse allegations against her father.