Via Disobedient Media

On December 4th, 2017, Disobedient Media published testimony and research outlining a massive, well connected human trafficking and child pornography network located in various locations along the U.S. East Coast. The list of individuals connected to this wider network allegedly included disgraced former football coach, Jerry Sandusky.

While Sandusky was initially caught for acts of abuse that occurred on Penn State's campus, the Grand Jury probing the case noted that he had access to hundreds of vulnerable and disadvantaged youth, using his nonprofit The Second Mile to find victims. Despite Sandusky's use of The Second Mile for these purposes, a number of high profile celebrities sitting on the organization's board expressed shock after the misconduct was made public. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that in 1990, President George H.W. Bush nationally recognized The Second Mile as a philanthropic "Point Of Light."

In the aftermath of the revelations about Sandusky, The Washington Post reported in 2012 that The Second Mile was absorbed by Arrow Child and Family Ministries; a Christian foster home in Texas which absorbed $2 million in assets along with the disgraced organization's mentoring and camp programs. Three victims of Sandusky unsuccessfully sued to prevent the transfer, arguing that the charity's assets should be used to compensate victims before any other parties received funds.

Archives obtained from 2012 reveal that at the time of the transfer Arrow Child and Family Ministries had connections to multiple individuals tied to the Bush family. The site's Board of Directors included Maria Bush, the wife of George H.W. Bush's son Neil Bush. Susie Peake, who has been described as a personal assistant to George H.W. Bush was also listed as a board member.

Today's Arrow Child and Family Ministry's page for their Board of Directors reveals that all references to both Maria Bush and Susie Peake have been removed in an apparent attempt to distance the Bush family from the charity.

It's not clear why the Bushes have stepped away from Arrow Child and Family Ministry. In late 2017, Business Insider reported that six different women accused George H.W. Bush of groping them while posing for pictures. A spokesperson for the 41st President said that a wheelchair confined Bush would pat women's rears in what was "intended to be a good-natured manner" and apologized for any unintended harm or distress that the actions might have caused.