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A former immigrant shelter director in Massachusetts is petitioning Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the “disturbing pattern” of criminal activity, sexual assaults and financial abuse that he says is widespread in the state-run migrant shelter system.
Jon Fetherston, a former director of an immigrant shelter in Marlborough, Massachusetts, first blew the whistle about the widespread abuse in the shelter system after he discovered a Haitian migrant named Ronald Joseph, who was living in his shelter, had repeatedly raped and impregnated his 13-year-old daughter.
Fetherston previously told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he “reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening.”
However, instead of being arrested immediately, Fetherston was directed to order Joseph a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months in February.
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Though this case was particularly egregious, Fetherston said that “there is a lot of undocumented violence that goes on” and that rape, domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing and other crimes are so commonplace in the Massachusetts shelter system that many incidents simply fall through the cracks.
Fetherston said, “The entire experience has shaken me to my core.”
In a letter sent to Bondi this Monday, Fetherston said that this was “not an isolated incident” but despite his raising the alarm, “there has been a deliberate wall of silence. No reforms. No accountability. Just more spin, stonewalling, and bureaucratic excuses.”
“This is a crisis—one that requires federal action now,” he said.
Fetherston is now asking Bondi to launch a full investigation into criminal activity and sexual violence within Massachusetts-run migrant shelters, widespread fraud and misuse of federal and state funds, the deliberate refusal to coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies and the pattern of retaliation against those reporting abuse, danger or misconduct.
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The former shelter director-turned-whistleblower said that “these crimes and failures cannot be brushed aside any longer,” because “innocent people—especially children—are being hurt, and the people responsible are being protected by silence and political calculation.”
Fetherston placed much of the blame for rampant mismanagement and abuse in the shelter system on Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who has been extremely critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Fetherston said that “the impact of the Healey administration’s hotel shelter policy has been devastating for both residents inside the shelters and the local communities surrounding them.”
“I personally witnessed traumatic incidents—including assaults, fraud, and serious mental health crises—with minimal intervention from the state,” he said.
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“Families were placed in overcrowded, poorly managed facilities with little to no oversight, where safety was constantly compromised,” he explained. “Local communities were never consulted, resulting in growing resentment and fear. Neighborhoods saw increased police calls, strain on emergency services, and the burden of absorbing hundreds of people without additional resources.”
He said the Healey administration’s “lack of transparency and refusal to collaborate with municipalities left both residents and local officials in the dark, with serious consequences.” He also claimed he has faced retaliation for speaking out, including “having my safety threatened, being publicly discredited, and physically targeted.”
“If you challenge the narrative, you’re silenced,” he said. “That culture of suppression has created a dangerous environment where truth is buried and accountability is nonexistent.”
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Healey’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Healey has previously expressed outrage and called for a full audit of the state’s shelters after it was discovered that a 28-year-old illegal immigrant, Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, was discovered using a shelter to store an AR-15 and nearly $1 million in illegal drugs.
Fox News Digital’s Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
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