Los Angeles Community Policing founder Bill Murray is about to take the next step in his life of public service.

Murray, who has become a familiar voice in Northeast Los Angeles communities and beyond through his online radio podcast, Community Matters, is now set to launch the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse (NAASCA) on Jan. 1.

The organization will be aimed at helping child abuse victims cope with their trauma by providing resources and a safe space to talk about their experiences, said Murray, who was a victim of child abuse.

"I've gone through the recovery, and I'm healthy enough to be a spokesperson," the recovering drug and alcohol addict said. "I want to devote my life now to help other people who had the same experiences and have not talked about it, especially men."

Murray said he plans to use the Community Matters podcast to encourage victims, who can remain anonymous, to share their stories. He'll also focus on the issues of sex crimes, sex trafficking and child pornography.

"I hope we can bring many more pedophiles and child molesters to justice and help the public understand the sheer scope of the issue," he said.

The 57-year-old Murray's commitment to community service in NELA dates back the 1990s, when he began volunteering with the LAPD shortly after moving to Montecito Heights.

Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Murray founded Los Angeles Community Policing, which has grown into one of the largest forums for community safety issues in the nation.

"I wanted to play a role in keeping my community safe," he said.

Murray is also a board member of the Northeast Community Clinic and in the past served as chairman of the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council's organizing committee and as chairman of the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council's Public Safety Committee.

With the launch of the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, Murray is embarking on his most personal campaign.

"I want to take the worst thing that happened to me and turn it into the best thing I have to offer to the community," he said.

Murray, who grew up in New York, was sexually abused when he was 11 years old during summer camp; the abuse continued for three summers.

"He was a counselor and he seduced me and my family into believing he was a good guy," he said.

The counselor was a photographer and took care of the swimming pool, where Murray spent a lot of time because he was a good swimmer.

The counselor repeatedly tried to befriend Murray until one day he inappropriately touched him in a shower.

"I was shocked," he said. "I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know anything about sex."

Eventually, the counselor convinced Murray's parents to let him travel with him Montreal for two weeks. 

But the counselor had something else in mind, Murray said.

"I was at his mercy," he said.  "It was terrifying. I felt powerless. Ashamed."

The counselor spent the two weeks trying to convince the 14-year-old Murray to engage in sex and introduced him to other pedophiles. But he soon grew frustrated with Murray's refusal. At the end of the two weeks, Murray went back home and never heard from him again.

After the abuse, Murray's behavior changed completely.

"I became a problem student and became introverted," he said. "But I didn't tell anyone."

Once Murray started prep school, which was also a seminary, a priest noticed that something was off about his behavior. Murray said he confided about the sexual abuse to the priest, who instead of helping took a "special interest" in him.

 "I spent the fist couple of years of high school trying to avoid the pedophiles," he said. "But I was strong enough to turn them away."

Though struggles with drug and alcohol abuse forced him to drop out of college, Murray was eventually able to graduate from New York University with a degree in film and Television.

His girlfriend, who later became his wife, encouraged him to seek therapy and to reveal to his parents that he had been sexually abused.

Murray eventually found success in the television industry in Los Angeles, doing lighting, production and editing for popular sit-coms like The Golden Girls. He also enrolled in a 12-step program to overcome his drinking problem.

After a long journey, Murray says he wants to share his story with other men who are victims of child abuse, and to provide an outlet for abuse victims to share their own stories.

"The first step in to getting better is admitting that it happened and it's really hard for man to talk about it," he said. "It helps to know that you are not alone."