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Boys & Girls Club of America Abuse Help Line
FORMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
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Sexual conduct or misconduct, sexual abuse or molestation, sexual exploitation, sexual touching, sexualized interaction, sexual comments about a person's body, or other verbal or non-verbal behaviors that facilitated, contributed to, or led up to abuse, regardless of whether or not such behavior was itself sexual or against the law, and regardless of whether the child thought the behavior was sexual abuse at the time.
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Sexual abuse includes behavior between a child and an adult and between a child and another child, in each instance without regard to whether such activity involved explicit force, whether such activity involved genital or other physical contact, and whether the child associated the abuse with any physical, psychological, or emotional harm.
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Sexual abuse involves behaviors including penetration or fondling of the child's body, other body-on-body contact, or non-contact, behaviors such as observing or making images of a child's naked body, showing or making pornography, or having children behave in sexual behavior as a group.
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Inappropriate touching
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Requesting personal sexual favors for "rewards"
ABOUT BGCA SEXUAL ABUSE
While youth organizations can be a great method of providing after-school programs for children, providing a space to grow and develop, they may also lead to instances of sexual abuse.
Child sexual abuse is a widespread problem in the United States, with Child Protective Services finding evidence for claims of child sex abuse every 9 minutes.
An alarming 93% of child sex abuse victims knew their perpetrators prior to the crime; of these, 34% of perpetrators were family members whereas 59% were acquaintances—which include family friends, coaches, teachers, priests and youth program leaders, employees, and volunteers. Because the Boys & Girls Club of America offers programs for both children and adults, the interaction of these two groups of individuals is inevitable.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
Signs of BGCA Abuse can manifest in numerous ways. Children are typically honest about how they feel. If they're experiencing physical pain, or are upset about something, they will likely express it in some way. Sadly, child predators also impose their will on children who don't have the ability to communicate. In addition, some predators convince children that abusive behavior is normal, making it less likely that children will speak up. However, there are many indisputable signs that may indicate that abuse has occurred. They include, but are not limited to:
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Disrupted sleep and frequent nightmares
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May seem withdrawn or distant
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Depression, fear, anxiety, and mood swings
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Loss of appetite or other changes in eating habits
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Cuts, bruises, abrasions, skin discoloration, and burns
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Pain, bleeding, or unusual discharge from the genitals
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Sudden bed wetting
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Running away from home
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Drug or alcohol addiction
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Self-injury
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) Abuse Lawsuits
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) are currently under fire over allegations of sexual abuse.
In 2019, Hearst Connecticut Media published a report on a six-month investigation into the youth development nonprofit organization and found there were more than 250 reports of child sex abuse perpetrated by employees, volunteers and others associated with of BGCA — and some victims were as young as 6, according to CT Insider.
In 2018, former athletic director of Sonoma Valley’s Boys & Girls Club Paul Dwayne Kilgore was sentenced to 150 years to life in prison for the sexual abuse of three boys under his care at the youth organization, Sonoma News reported.
According to a civil lawsuit, one of Kilgore’s victims was a fifth-grade boy who had attempted to report the sexual abuse in 2007 and 2010, but was allegedly ignored by Sonoma Valley Boys & Girls Club employees, who did not notify the police, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
In 2012, leadership found that Kilgore had slept naked with children during an overnight trip; yet again, no one reported the misconduct to the police, according to the AP report.
Kilgore reportedly left the Sonoma Valley Boys & Girls Club when he was informed he could not take boys offsite. However, he was hired shortly thereafter at a nearby Boys & Girls Club in Petaluma, California, the AP reported.
In a separate lawsuit, three individuals brought allegations against Rockefeller University Hospital, the place of employment of endocrinologist Reginald Archibald, who also volunteered at the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club from the 1940s through the 1960s. He later joined the BGCA board.
According to the CT Post, Archibald scouted potential victims during his time at the BGCA, then “used the guise of his studies to rape and molest children in examination rooms.”
The victims’ attorneys suspect the now-deceased Archibald may have abused hundreds of children. The attorneys representing Archibald’s alleged victims say his “may be the most prolific case of child sex abuse in American history.”
In another lawsuit, 12 men allege a former employee of the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester in Kisco, New York, used his position to sexually abuse them decades ago, from the 1970s through the early 1990s.
The alleged abuser, James Collins, used grooming tactics such as plying the children with candy, gifts, and alcohol, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit describes the abuse as “something out of a horror story,” according to Greenwich Time.
At the time of the alleged abuse, the victims ranged from 10 years old to teenagers, according to Greenwich Time. The lawsuit claims several employees at the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester witnessed and/or knew about the sexual abuse at the time but did not prevent it from continuing.
In addition to the sexual abuse lawsuits that have been filed against Boys & Girls Clubs America, there are 12 pending criminal cases that accuse men who are affiliated in some way with local BGCA clubs of sexual misconduct, CT Post reported.
TAKE ACTION
Lawsuits are currently being filed by abuse victims across the United States. Victims who were abused across the country, need to speak up! If you or a loved one have been sexually abused while in the BGCA, you might be eligible for financial compensation for your pain and suffering. Don’t suffer in silence. Fill out a no-cost claim review to see if you are eligible to receive compensation. – complete the free and easy claim review form today.
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