Lawsuit: Disabled girl raped at OR Boys and Girls Club

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against the national Boys and Girls Clubs of America over the 2011 rape of a disabled 7-year-old girl at a facility in eastern Oregon, officials say.

Crew Janci LLP of Portland filed the $5 million lawsuit in Malheur County Circuit Court.

Court documents state the victim was raped and “suffering from significant mental and physical disabilities or impairments.”

The attacker was a “teenage male summer program participant,” according to the lawsuit. It took place during program hours in a single-user bathroom inside the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Treasure Valley in Ontario.

Crew Janci LLP is known for pursuing child sex abuse cases around the country against large organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, the Mormon Church and Catholic Church.

The lawsuit claims the local and national Boys and Girls Clubs of America were “negligent in failing to protect the victim.” It also states club employees should have been aware of the risk posed by the attacker because the teen boy had “falsely imprisoned, assaulted and battered at least one minor female child on at least one prior occasion.”

Attorneys for the victim said the organization has been “aware since at least 2000 (from previous reported incidents occurring within BCGA clubs and events around the United States) that their program presented a risk of sexual abuse,” but it failed to take appropriate steps to prevent abuse, including employee training and enforcing safety policies.

Attorney for the victim Peter Janci released the following statement:

“Like [previous] cases, we will be seeking all evidence of internal reports within the national Boys and Girls Club about incidents of abuse within their program in the last several decades.  Unfortunately, we suspect that the evidence in this case will show that there is a history of abuse within the Boys and Girls Clubs of America that has not yet fully been brought to light. Our client alleges — and we intend to prove — that the Boys and Girls Clubs of America has known about the risk of abuse within its organization and has failed to adequately safeguard youth.”

Attorney Stephen Crew also released a following statement on the incident:

“This 7-year-old girl was already disabled and vulnerable before the attack she suffered at the Boys and Girls Club.  The impact is profound.  It is going to take a lot of expensive treatment over many years to address what this little girl suffered at the Boys and Girls Club.”

To full lawsuit can be seen below.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of America released the following statement on the lawsuit:

“The top priority of Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the safety and protection of the children that are served by Boys & Girls Clubs around the country. We are deeply concerned by this allegation and will cooperate fully with the legal process. All Club employees and volunteers must undergo a thorough criminal background check, and Boys & Girls Clubs do not tolerate inappropriate or illegal activity on behalf of any Club staff, volunteer, or youth member.”