Carson City agrees to settle second Camp Carson molestation lawsuit for $1.25 million
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 11/21/2019 - 11:33am
The Carson City Board of Supervisors agreed to settle a lawsuit for a total of $1,250,000 after four children were allegedly sexually abused while enrolled with Camp Carson by a 15-year-old volunteer.
The lawsuits allege that while the children were enrolled in Camp Carson Summer Camp in 2016 as Wagoneers (first graders) a 15-year-old volunteer inappropriately sexually touched the four children.
According to the legal complaint, the incident took place at a bowling alley the children were taken to on a field trip, which was recorded by security cameras. The lawsuits allege that the City was negligent by hiring a volunteer with a history of behavioral and mental problems, and did not properly train paid employees to oversee and monitor volunteers. A child told a family member what had happened, which spurred the investigation.
According to the City, the volunteer was terminated immediately after the allegations and discovery of the abuse.
Three of the four children and their families previously settled the first law suit in the amount of approximately $255,000 to be dispersed between the families affected, which is being paid by the City’s insurance carrier, said Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury who spoke on the subject during the Thursday Board meeting.
However, the second lawsuit involves the fourth plaintiff, who received significantly more abuse than the other children, according to Woodbury.
“This lawsuit involves a single plaintiff, which is categorically different in nature due to the nature of the touching and the number of occurrences,” said Woodbury.
The plaintiff’s family originally sued the City for $6 million, but brought down the amount to $1.25 million after mediation with the city and its representatives.
Generally, the City’s insurance carrier should cover the costs of lawsuits against the City; however, the insurance carrier says they will only pay $1,000,000 total, including the amount paid to the three children in the first lawsuit.
In the second lawsuit, the insurance carrier agreed to only pay $745,000 of the $1,250,000 total, which leaves $505,000 payable by the City.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to make up the difference. When the lawsuits are paid, all claims against the City will be dropped by all four plaintiffs. It does not mean that the City will not be able to litigate against the insurance carrier.
Whether or not a criminal investigation took place against the 15-year-old by law enforcement is unknown, as the volunteer was a minor and the records are confidential, said Woodbury.
The Board also unanimously voted to settle a lawsuit for just over $58,000 to a child who was bit by a police canine unit during a Citizen’s Academy in March 2017.
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