Psychiatrist Robert McCormick Browne Abused Dozens of Hawaii Boys Over Decades

Honolulu, Hawaii - Among the 55,000 service members laid to rest is a child predator: Psychiatrist Robert McCormick Browne. Those who were abused by the prominent psychiatrist, take issue that Punchbowl is his final resting place. Browne's body rests in next to his parents at the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. 

 

Laws currently in place could have prevented his honorable burial at Punchbowl. Those laws were meant to keep suspected murderers and rapists out of veterans cemeteries, even if they were never convicted of a crime. But they weren't in place after Browne committed suicide in 1991, when he found out his crimes were going to be made public. 

 

Now there are only two ways Browne's remains can be removed from Punchbowl to make room for another, more deserving veteran: His own family would have to request it, or an act of Congress, which has happened before.

 

Over 30 years, between the 1950s and 1980s, Browne treated boys who were referred to him by Kamehameha Schools.  Dozens of them were molested in Browne's office. Earlier this year, an $80 million settlement was reached between the school and 32 plaintiffs, including Bajo.

 

"He sexually abused dozens of Hawaii boys over decades. And he's buried at Punchbowl," Hawaii News Now, 5 July 2018, hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38583773/he-sexually-abused-dozens-of-hawaii-boys-over-decades-and-hes-buried-at-punchbowl