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- On The Record: June 11
On The Record: June 11
Rye Record
June 11, 2024
Good morning subscribers.☕ This is your Tuesday, June 11, Rye Record newsletter, curating some of the latest headlines across the city of Rye.
Today, we probe the boys rugby team, who had their season abruptly cut short following a controversial DQ.
Inside the courts? We report on a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of two minors at a local church that dates back to the 1960s. And justice is finally served as a Port Chester assailant was sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting two teenage girls around this time one year ago.
Goats! Yes, goats are eating their way through the Marshlands Conservancy as part of a pilot to eradicate invasive species. Want to hear more? Keep scrolling.
And last but not least, The Record travels west to sit down with TV producer Greg Berlanti to talk about his Hollywood career and his connection to Westchester’s smallest city.
Today’s Weather Channel local forecast calls for a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 75 degrees. 🌤
Rye’s nationally ranked rugby team had their postseason hopes dashed following a controversial suspension.
Rye High School’s nationally ranked boys’ rugby team has been suspended from postseason play and ordered to forfeit its game with Pelham – by an oversight body headed by the coach of the Pelham team.
Matt Persanis, president of RugbyNY and coach of the Pelham high school rugby team, said he did not file the complaint against Rye and did not participate in the decision by his group to forfeit Rye’s game against Pelham. RugbyNY also put Rye’s team on probation for next season.
RugbyNY members do not sit on disciplinary matters if they have “a competitive interest” in the outcome, he said.
-by Jon Elsen and Emily Schmidt
Christ’s Church is being sued over its former organist, who allegedly sexually assaulted two young girls at the church during a 10-year period spanning the 1960s and ’70s.
An employee of Christ’s Church in Rye sexually abused two women repeatedly over a decade during their childhood, while the church and diocese turned a blind eye, a lawsuit claims.
The victims, identified in court filings as A.L. and R.C., said they were assaulted, raped, and on occasion, drugged at the episcopal Christ’s Church and other locations during a period from 1967-77 that led to “catastrophic and lifelong injuries.” The abuse, they said, came at the hands of Felix McGuire, the church’s longtime organist and piano teacher – who claimed to be a descendant of famed composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
“Despite (Felix) McGuire’s reputation as a sexual predator to young children ... (McGuire) utilized his position of authority with the Diocese and the Church to sexually abuse Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit states.
Both the church and the Episcopal Diocese of New York are named defendants in the litigation, which was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court through the state’s Child Victims Act.
-by Christian Falcone
Greg Berlanti, principal of Berlanti Productions, was once a Rye High School student. Now, he’s credited with countless TV series.
Fans of shows like “You” (on Netflix), “The Flight Attendant” (on HBO Max), or the entire “Arrowverse” superhero franchise of the CW Network are probably familiar with that distinctive and funny sign off at the end of every TV episode produced by Berlanti Productions.
But they might not know that Greg, the little boy in question, has deep roots in Rye.
“I could talk to you all day about Rye!” Berlanti said during a recent interview with The Rye Record. “Both my parents are from Rye; they both went to Rye High School.”
He attended Milton School, participated in activities at the Rye Arts Center, and graduated from Rye High School.
-by Sophie Hessekiel
These guys seem very happy to be helping trim plants at the Marshlands Conservancy.
About 30 goats are grazing, munching, and snacking their way through a one-acre meadow that is keeping them in with an electric fence. The conservancy arranged to have them there until June 5 to eradicate invasive plants in an area that has lost part of its forest ecosystem to deer browsing.
The goats are devouring plants in an area where mammals, birds, butterflies, and insects love to eat, shelter and reproduce. The Conservancy is testing the goat approach as an alternative to frequent mowing and herbicide use.
-by Arthur Stampleman
Richard Olmino was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting two Rye teens in 2023. One of the attacks took place in Rye Town Park.
A man who sexually assaulted two teenage girls in Rye last year has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Richard Olmino, 22, “preyed on two young women who were out and about in their own community and he attacked them and threatened them with either violence or a weapon to get them to do sexual acts,” Assistant District Attorney Mollie O’Rourke said.
“Both were teenagers when this defendant forced himself into their lives and he tried to extinguish the very best part of these girls, but as they have both told the court, he did not succeed.”
The two victims, identified to the court by only their initials, were 16 and 18 years old at the time of their attacks.
-by Julie Iles