Yes our old friend is gone-good riddance. Better warn the people in Miami
Casa Alianza Closes Costa Rica Operations
Following Ex-Director's Sex Scandal
The non-governmental Ch*ldren's rights advocacy organization Casa Alianza has announced it will close its operations in Costa Rica on Nov. 15, just weeks after director Bruce Harris was fired following charges that he paid for sex from a 19-year old Honduran man.
The president of the Christian organization, Tricia Cruise, made the announcement of the closure in a statement to the press, saying the funds that were used to maintain Costa Rican operations will be channeled into the organization's other projects in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico.
Casa Alianza maintained its Central American headquarters in Costa Rica, where Harris had lead it in a struggle against the sexual exploitation and general protection of Ch*ldren, especially street Ch*ldren, since it opened here in 1993.
“This was a difficult decision because of the incredible and strenuous work of those in the Costa Rican office,†Cruise said in the statement.
Ch*ld Welfare Minister RosalÃa Gil told the press that four Casa Alianza officials requested permission from their superiors at its parent organization, the New York-based Covenant House, to create an independent foundation in Costa Rica dedicated to working with Ch*ldren.
The new organization would pick up the loose ends of the more than 1,000 investigations against suspects of sexual exploitation of Ch*ldren on which Casa Alianza Costa Rica had kept watch.
“I feel that, regarding complaints filed, Casa Alianza played an extremely important role in this country,†Gil said. “They were the ones who prompted certain well-known investigations.â€
Harris, at last report living in Miami and cooperating with a Honduran investigation into his encounter with the Honduran man, had served as Casa Alianza's Latin American director for 15 years, during which time he and the organization are credited with having helped tens of thousands of Ch*ldren in Mexico and Central America (TT, Oct.
.The Costa Rican operation did not have shelters for Ch*ldren, while the other Casa Alianza facilities in Central America and Mexico shelter hundreds of Ch*ldren.