That little house behind the school

I never realized until I went to my 40th class reunion that people were upset that Knoxville Catholic High School had moved to a new location and sold the old school. Without going into details, I know that the sentimentality of the old school is very great, and people are loathe to turn loose of those things that matter to them. KCHS matters to many of us. Rich and fond memories for most; pain, humiliation, and horror for some.

It's really all about that little house behind the school.

Old KCHS on Magnolia had become a rather dangerous place because of its location in the city. Drug dealers on the streets were far too frequent. Staying late at school for extracurricular activities had become a security nightmare. It was really necessary to move, but before all that came about, there was a danger far more sinister and more perverse than most could imagine. And it all came about in that little house behind the school.

It was the priest's house. That's what we called it anyway. If the principal of the high school were a priest, he lived there. So it was when Father Frank Richards was principal of KCHS in the mid 80s. And Frank Richards is a pedophile who preys on teenage boys.

He would ask unwitting parents to let their son come to spend the night. There were several who were going to come there, he said, and there was work to be done and fun to be had. All too soon, the fun ceased, and the shame and horror began.

It was the alcohol or the drugs or the pornography or any combination of these that started it all. Father Richards gave it to the boys so what could they say. He was cool. He let them taste the wilder side of their approaching manhood, so why not participate. "Father said it's okay" is a strong argument to the teen brought up in the strict Catholic homes of yesteryear.

And then he abused them. Frequently they were dazed with alcohol. Sometimes not dazed enough, but the results were always the same. Shame. Guilt. Pain. Despair.

"I don't think your parents would want to hear what you did." And now, years later, the horror of that little house behind the school still haunts these once-innocent boys, now men. Still brings chills and nausea and sometimes the desire to recreate those alcohol and drug-induced, mind-numbed moments so they don't have to remember.

And Frank Richards is a free man. Ex-priest. Not prosecutable because of statutes of limitations. Murderer of souls. One time occupant of that little house behind the school.

It was time to move KCHS away from the pain.