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Lawsuits Filed Against YMCA for Failing to Protect Students from Molestation

Published on Mar 6, 2018 by Thomas Law Offices.

An 18-year-old Jefferson High School student is currently under criminal investigation for sexually abusing multiple girls between the ages of 3-8 where he worked as a teacher’s aide at a local YMCA. Michael Begin is accused of touching 17 children in an inappropriate manner while working at the Jeffersonville YMCA as well as at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. He’s currently being held in the Clark County jail on more than 20 total charges of child molestation.

Parents of the children he’s abused have filed multiple lawsuits against the facilities where the abuse occurred. These lawsuits claim that the institutions and staff member should have done more to protect the girls from being molested. One earlier lawsuit targets the Greater Clark Schools Corp. Two recent lawsuits target the YMCA of Greater Louisville.

The first lawsuit targeting the YMCA claims that the YMCA failed to protect a young girl by “not properly monitoring” Begin’s activities and not having adequate video monitoring or employee training. According to the lawsuit, the YMCA did not fire Begin after learning he was under police investigation for a charge of molestation that occurred in August of last year. The abuse allegedly continued until October without consequence.

The second lawsuit, filed in Clark County Circuit Court 1, alleges that both the YMCA and Greater Clark schools failed to protect a young girl when she was sexually abused while participating in an after-school program. This also happened in October last year. The abuse was caught on camera. According to the lawsuit, both the YMCA and the school district acted negligently by failing to protect the child.

When a school or facility for educational programs/activities like the YMCA fails to take the necessary measures to protect children from sexual abuse, parents have a right to file a Title IX lawsuit against the institution. Title IX is a federal amendment that requires educational institutions to protect students from sexual misconduct as well as requires staff members to report instances of sexual abuse or harassment. When an institution fails to follow these measures, the law considers its staff negligent.

If you or someone you love was a victim of sexual assault, violence, or harassment at a school, college, or other facility that specializes in educational programs and activities and you feel the facility should have provided protection, you may have legal options. Get in touch with the legal team at Thomas Law Offices to learn more. With the help of our Title IX lawyers, we can send a message that our nation must do more to protect our children.

 

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Tad Thomas has dedicated his practice to representing plaintiffs in various types of civil litigation, including personal injury, business litigation, class actions, and multi-district litigation.

After graduating with his law degree in 2000 from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, Mr. Thomas immediately opened his own private practice and began representing injury victims.

In 2011, Thomas Law Offices was established in Louisville, Kentucky. Over the past decade, Mr. Thomas has expanded his firm and now has offices in three additional locations: Cincinnati, Ohio, Columbia, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. He is also a frequent lecturer on topics like trial skills and ethics and technology.

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