A Warning From 15 Years Ago

In 2003, Stuart Evan Rice, a critic of drum corps leadership, posted on an Internet forum that he heard that George Hopkins had sex with corps members. He also wrote that he warned the director of Drum Corps International, Dan Acheson, about his suspicions. Acheson says he does not recall the warning.

Here are excerpts from Rice’s posts. The name of an additional DCI staffer mentioned by Rice has been redacted.

JULY 7, 2003

“In the process of my getting to know these people, their knowledge and experience, I have learned that some individuals in the DCI hierarchy are sex offenders, which was not a surprise to me (virtually all youth activities experience problems like this at one time or another).

“In other words, DCI staff (in this case, [name redacted] and George Hopkins) have had sex with members of certain junior corps.”

JULY 9, 2003

“I had a pleasant conversation with Dan Acheson on the phone a few minutes ago about DCI’s sex offenders. He mentioned that he would be happy to speak with any victims who may contact him. He also said he would contact authorities, if appropriate. However, he also suggest that having my sources contact him (or any sources, other than victims) would not be productive.

“He maintained that DCI has no jurisdiction over sexual improprieties with the organizations it governs (I doubt that would be the case for DCI’s own employees, i.e. [name redacted]), and that those incidents should be resolved through the corps involved. As is so rarely the case in DCI, it seems justice rests in the hands of the victims here.”

JULY 15, 2003

“It has been suggested that I talk with Dan Acheson, child protection agencies, and the police about reporting what my sources have informed me regarding sex offenders in drum corps. I have left no stone unturned. In one case, the statute of limitations has expired. In another, I was told the police could do nothing.

“Dan Acheson, as I mentioned, said he would do nothing unless approached by victims themselves. … what can be done? The powers that be have made it clear: the matter is in the hands of the victims. If the victims choose to do nothing about problems like this in drum corps, nothing will be done.”