NIGHTMARISH

Mercy Corps Admits Mishandling Allegations of Horrific Sex Abuse by Co-Founder

An internal report corroborated many of the nightmarish claims made against Ellsworth Culver by his daughter.

The international aid organization Mercy Corps issued an apology Wednesday for its “extensive failures” in declining to act following horrific accusations of sexual abuse against late co-founder Ellsworth Culver by his daughter. According to the New York Times, Mercy Corps has now made available an independent report that corroborates many of the allegations made by Tania Culver Humphrey toward her father by matching up evidence like travel records with specific accusations, such as that Culver brought his daughter abroad with him and allowed her to be sexually abused by other men, and abused other young girls. According to Humphrey, one of the girls abused by her father on an international trip was killed in the process.

A 2019 investigation by The Oregonian details how after Humphrey approached Mercy Corps executives in the ’90s and told them that her father had abused her and other girls, one wrote back to her, saying they were taking a “redemptive approach” with Culver, who was then demoted within the organization. He died in 2005. In a recent statement, Mercy Corps board members said they “deeply regret” for the organization’s initial response to Humphrey’s allegations.

Correction: An earlier version of this cheat incorrectly stated that Tania Culver Humphrey alleged multiple girls died as a result of her father’s sexual abuse.