Man’s suicide unearths decades-old sex abuse revelations

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The death of a man in a small Alaska town has forced into the open decades-old allegations of sexual abuse against a former school superintendent.

The man, Rick Martin, recorded a video before he died by suicide, alleging abuse by the former superintendent, Karl Ward, in the small community of Haines, Alaska.

Martin’s wife has spoken out since her husband’s death, in hopes of spurring a conversation about mental health and abuse. And other men have come forward, telling their accounts to the local newspaper.

Police Chief Heath Scott says he has no reason to doubt the allegations but noted that Ward was never convicted of anything. He says the department has no open investigation and has no reason to believe there was any cover-up.

Ward died two decades ago.