Youth Sports & Summer Camp Sexual Abuse Attorneys

Youth sports leagues (such as Little League, AYSO soccer, Pop Warner football, USA Swimming, CYO, martial arts, etc.) play an important role in many children’s lives. Young athletes spend significant amounts of time with coaches and team volunteers – both on and off the playing field (traveling to tournaments, attending training camps, etc.). Between practice, team-building events, and overnight trips, the adults involved in youth sports spend a significant amount of time alone with children. Coaches, in particular, build a great degree of trust with a child, and coaches can utilize their authority and influence to take advantage of those in their care. Further, the “team mentality” that coaches strive to instill in their players can result in a victim’s increased inability to come forward for fear of shame, stigma, retaliation or repercussions from teammates.

When coaches and adult volunteers are honest, caring, and only seek to help kids grow, youth sports programs can be a big benefit to children. However, when youth sports leagues fail to take adequate steps to prevent predators from accessing children, an otherwise happy and healthy sports program can turn into a harmful and abusive nightmare for the kids involved. The attorneys at Crew Janci LLP have extensive experience handling child sexual abuse cases. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse committed by a coach or other adult volunteer in a youth sports league, contact our office today to discuss your legal rights and secure the help you need.

Residential summer camps (“sleep away camps”) and day camps are responsible for providing a safe and fun, focused learning environment for the children enrolled in their program. It is the camp’s responsibility to train and properly supervise all of its camp counselors, staff, employees, and volunteers. These camps are required to exercise reasonable care in selecting, hiring, and supervising camp staff and volunteers in order to prevent harm to children, including sexual abuse by a camp staff member or volunteer. It is also well-known that failing to properly supervise youth campers can result in peer-on-peer sexual abuse (i.e., a child being sexually abused or assaulted by another camper).

When sleepaway or day camps do not fulfill their duties of supervising and caring for the children under their charge and a child is abused, the camp is liable for the resulting harm. Our attorneys here at Crew Janci LLP represent victims who were sexually abused in sleepaway camps, day camps, and specialty camp programs nationwide (including Christian camps and other religious camping programs). Crew Janci holds these institutions accountable when they fail to protect children in their care. We aim to obtain justice and healing for the victims by forcing camps to adopt changes that make today’s campers safer.