Photos: Sargent Shriver and 50 Years of the Peace Corps
Disturbing the Peace
Throughout its 50-year history, the Peace Corps has been a largely positive force, though it has witnessed several scandals that threatened to tarnish its reputation. In a 1966 case, a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania was accused of murdering his wife, but was found innocent. The photo above shows villagers standing outside the courthouse hearing the case. Ten years later, Deborah Gardner was found murdered in her home in Tonga by a fellow Peace Corps worker, who pled insanity. More recently, a troubling 2010 report from the Office of the Inspector General listed hundreds of violent crimes committed against Corps volunteers, while a 2011 investigation by the news show 20/20 found that more than 1,000 young women had been raped or sexually assaulted in the preceding decade while working for the peace corps in foreign countries.