The YMCA and YWCA are two separate organizations, but they share a goal of improving the lives of those they serve. Unfortunately, in situations where supervision becomes lax, volunteers or employees may act inappropriately with children.

Child sexual abuse used to be such a taboo topic that people often avoided at all costs, but this was to the detriment of those who suffered in silence for years. Now, more and more survivors are coming forward with allegations that occurred years ago. In recent years, parents also have been more apt to broach the subject in a proactive attempt to prevent their own children from being abused when the parents aren’t around, and it is growing increasingly more common for children to be educated about abuse in order to better prevent it. As a result, today’s children may feel safer in sharing allegations with their parents or another trusted adult than they might have felt 25 years ago.

Places that have been thought to be safe havens for children, including the YMCA/YWCA, now face lawsuits over allegations children were sexually abused by coaches, tutors, drivers, and other volunteers or employees. 

Former YMCA/YWCA Worker Serving 120 Years

Several former YMCA and YWCA workers have been convicted of child sexual abuse charges and are now set to spend decades in prison.

Michael Begin, 20, was sentenced to 120 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to 20 counts of level 4 felony child molestation, according to Louisville, Kentucky, Fox affiliate WDRB. The April 2019 sentence was appealed in January 2020, but the appeal was rejected by the Indiana Supreme Court. As a result, the 120-year sentence remains in effect.

Begin was 18 years old and working as a teacher’s aide in 2017 when he inappropriately touched children between the ages of 3 and 8 while he worked at an after-school program run through a cooperative effort between the Jeffersonville YMCA and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Begin is facing at least three lawsuits — two of which name the YMCA as a defendant, according to the Courier-Journal — for allegedly failing to adequately protect children from Begin, who was not sufficiently trained or supervised. 

Former YMCA Camp Employee Groomed Boys 

In June 2019, Michael Todd Pegram was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree sex offense, one count of attempted first-degree sex offense, one count of statutory sex offense with a child, and 21 counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. Pegram was accused of sexually abusing eight boys over the course of 10 years, beginning in 1991.  

Pegram, 48, is being sued by the eight survivors, who said they were around 12 years old when he abused them while employed at the Kernersville YMCA summer camp program in North Carolina. The Kernersville YMCA, the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina and YMCA of the USA are all named defendants in addition to Pegram.

The lawsuit alleges Pegram groomed the boys by providing them special privileges, giving them presents, and calling the group of them “Todd’s Thunderbirds” to let them know they were his favorite boys, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

Accountability by the YMCA/YWCA

In cases where child sexual abuse occurred decades ago, the statute of limitations may have run out, but many states have new laws that allow even those old cases to go forward. In recognition of the trauma that child sexual abuse causes and the time it may take for a survivor to come forth with allegations, many states have initiated a Child Victims Act to allow old allegations to surface and to hold perpetrators accountable, or made other updates to their sexual abuse laws.

Survivors of child sexual abuse committed by a volunteer, employee or other person affiliated with the YMCA or YWCA or another youth organization could benefit from speaking with an attorney regarding legal pursuits. Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, but Top Class Actions can help by connecting you with an experienced attorney who specializes in such cases and can help determine if a class action lawsuit or an individual lawsuit would be appropriate to the situation.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.