What’s the Problem?
Plaintiffs are alleging abuse at the hands of James Collins, a former coach, counselor, mentor and supervisor at the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester in Mount Kisco, New York. The suit alleges that Collins engaged in repeated sexual abuse and exploitation of the 4 boys, which ranged from 10 years old to teenagers when the crimes occurred, yet the Boys & Girls Club failed to respond to repeated complaints against him and allowed him to continue victimizing the children for years.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs accuse Collins of using his positions of authority to obtain unsupervised access to the defendants, and that he targeted children from single-parent homes and other vulnerable situations. The suit also described Collins’ “grooming behaviors,” including giving gifts, treats, candy, and even alcohol.
“These warning signs, grooming behaviors, inappropriate time spent alone with Plaintiffs and not respecting boundaries with children were ignored by (the Boys & Girls Club), thus, creating the opportunity for abuse, resulting in failures to enforce proper boundaries and, instead, allowing Collins access to abuse children,” according to the lawsuit.
The complaint further alleges that Collins and other defendants — the Boys & Girls Club, the town of Mount Kisco, New York, the Camp Iroquois in that town, the Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, N.Y., and the Chappaqua Central School District — were negligent for failing to protect children from sexual abuse by Collins.
Collins’ alleged abuses occurred on the property of or within facilities owned and operated by the above institutions, and also at Collins’ home, according to the suit. Yet despite the charges pending against him, Collins is somehow still employed as a bus driver and janitor at a school in Hawthorn, New York, allowing him continued access to children, according to the Greenwich Time.
The lawsuit marks the latest in a years-long string of civil and criminal complaints alleging sexual abuse by Boys & Girls Club affiliates across the U.S., including 4 civil actions filed against the Greenwich club on behalf of 7 men.
A Hearst Connecticut Media investigation launched in 2019 has identified at least 351 victims in 35 states who said they were sexually abused as children by people with ties to Boys & Girls Clubs of America over the past 70 years.
Do I Have a Boys & Girls Club Sexual Abuse Class Action Lawsuit?
The Class Action Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Boys & Girls Club Lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new sexual abuse cases in all 50 states.
If you or a loved one was the victim of sexual abuse, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to a settlement by filing a suit and we can help.