144 replies to this topic

[4thgenFolsomite]

I disagree. He should not be put away somewhere dark. He should be put in the general prison population. Then he will receive his real punishment.

I think general prison population is someplace dark. Especially when you're a cute young blonde!

Enjoy the Folsom Prison swim team, young man!

[Robert Giacometti]

To you perhaps you were not sick.

But I see a lot of young girls in relationships with older guys and afterwards they come out bitter. They were taken advantage of.

Who was taken advantage of who, the younger girls or the older guys?

[Rich_T]

I'm glad that the sting operation netted someone. Other than that, I'll wait to read the facts once the whole thing is settled. There are too many assumptions here.

[bordercolliefan]

Obviously this is not the main point, but I can't help observing, is this not the stupidest young man on the planet? Those pedophile sting shows are on t.v. All the time. It never occurred to Johnston that perhaps this was not a real dad offering to let someone rape his children???

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Obviously this is not the main point, but I can't help observing, is this not the stupidest young man on the planet? Those pedophile sting shows are on t.v. All the time. It never occurred to Johnston that perhaps this was not a real dad offering to let someone rape his children???

I dialed into that sting show once and the man they caught was a man they had caught once before. Unreal. Unfortunately, I would guess that a very small minority of online predators get caught so these perps play the odds and assume they won't be caught.

My heart goes out to his victims and to all of the families that even have to wonder whether their children were/are victims. This is tough stuff to have to deal with.

[supermom]

Boycott the Sea Otters and the Lembi Pool until they agree to up the minimum age for lifeguards, coaches and assistants on their facilities! At least with 8 years legal age of employment (16-22) so that a background check will really give character references.

These kids deserve that.

Not half baked background checks that are more about how long you swam for the coach.

The city has an obligation if they are going to allow individual contracts (even volunteers) to make sure their facilities are not being used to case local minors for human trafficking purposes.

The city has been lucky so far with their loosey-goosey policies that more children have not been preyes upon. Especially since Folsom is know as the "family Friendly" city.

Boycott The Otters!!!!

[mac_convert]

A background check and fingerprints only reveal something that has been reported and documented with the legal system. I would think an athlete who grew up with the team/league would have been one of the best to hire because one would think they'd "know" the person as they grew up and participated. This is a very sad situation for the children and families involved, as well as his own family. I'm sure they're probably devastated the son they raised would do something like this.

Boycott the Sea Otters and the Lembi Pool until they agree to up the minimum age for lifeguards, coaches and assistants on their facilities! At least with 8 years legal age of employment (16-22) so that a background check will really give character references.

These kids deserve that.

Not half baked background checks that are more about how long you swam for the coach.

The city has an obligation if they are going to allow individual contracts (even volunteers) to make sure their facilities are not being used to case local minors for human trafficking purposes.

The city has been lucky so far with their loosey-goosey policies that more children have not been preyes upon. Especially since Folsom is know as the "family Friendly" city.

Boycott The Otters!!!!

[bordercolliefan]

Boycott the Sea Otters and the Lembi Pool until they agree to up the minimum age for lifeguards, coaches and assistants on their facilities! At least with 8 years legal age of employment (16-22) so that a background check will really give character references.

The city has an obligation if they are going to allow individual contracts (even volunteers) to make sure their facilities are not being used to case local minors for human trafficking purposes.

Boycott The Otters!!!!

At first I wondered if you were a nut-case with these histrionic calls to shut down the pool and boycott the Otters.

Now, however, I have learned that you are a representative of a rival swim team... wishing you could steal some of the Otters swimmers for your own team! Shame on you with your false accusations that Otter management knew about the sting and withheld that information from families. It's too bad you feel the need to hurl scurrilous accusations rather than compete fair and square.

[2kids4me]

I think your first instinct was right, bordercolliefan. She clearly has no clue how a swim team operates. On a side note, as a member of a different rec team in town, I'd hate to think the Sea Otters consider the other teams as "rivals". The Otters have had waiting lists for years, and any chance to enable all the kids to swim who want to is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing - and certainly not a competition.

Supermom - are you really saying the minimum age of a swim coach would be 24? I'm guessing you don't know how little they make. If all the swim teams in town (3 recreational) had to follow those guidelines, there probably wouldn't even be enough coaches for one team, let alone three! It's hard enough to get good coaches as it is. Swim coaches are typically in HS or recently graduated. I'd hope most kids with a college degree (plus a few years past graduation) wouldn't be spending their summers coaching for peanuts. I do think the Otters will do some serious analysis of the situation and change some things, but to boycott the team is asinine (and my kids swim for another team). I think before you spout off such nonsense, you should at least know something about what you are talking about. Don't blame the Otters - blame the pedophile.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Supermom, pedophiles are all ages and people with tons of experience are pedophiles, too. A background/criminal check will only reveal crimes that have been dealt with in the courts. Lots of prerps get away with molesting children for decades before they're caught, IF they're caught. In addition, more and more employers are not giving "character references" -- but can only (by company policy) disclose dates of employment and titles/duties. There is no way to make sure an employee hasn't already molested a child.

[supermom]

At first I wondered if you were a nut-case with these histrionic calls to shut down the pool and boycott the Otters.

Now, however, I have learned that you are a representative of a rival swim team... wishing you could steal some of the Otters swimmers for your own team! Shame on you with your false accusations that Otter management knew about the sting and withheld that information from families. It's too bad you feel the need to hurl scurrilous accusations rather than compete fair and square.

Really?

No, I'm not on a rival swim team. However, I am concerned that the rival teams have not been given the same respect by being offered the same "town meeting to air concerns", as the otters.

Nope, Not on a team.

I also know your indignation is misplaced.

If this wasn't actually me voicing my rage against the LEO who continue to ignore policy and law and place children and their guardians as "bait" against these monster; well... I might actually find your illogical conclusions funny.

But I don't. Because more than anything, I wish that all those children had not been allowed to be given access to that monster. And it deeply offends and concerns me that you are more worried about The otters presidents repuation than the safety of those children.

Shame on you.

[supermom]

Supermom, pedophiles are all ages and people with tons of experience are pedophiles, too. A background/criminal check will only reveal crimes that have been dealt with in the courts. Lots of prerps get away with molesting children for decades before they're caught, IF they're caught. In addition, more and more employers are not giving "character references" -- but can only (by company policy) disclose dates of employment and titles/duties. There is no way to make sure an employee hasn't already molested a child.

Allowing a teen boy to work as a volunteer and have access to children in the intimacy of a coaching profession, is wrong.

Anyone who is allowed such access should have had time to grow up, make mistakes and lets see how they handle their lives.

Just like a person who is qualified to work in a day care center must be of age and have ECE credits.

The prerequisites for working with children should be much higher.

And the public Pool and park should be held liable if any families do come forward; because it is their ultimate responsibility to make sure they hired people of good repute.

A kid they knew fresh from highschool and was student of theirs sounds a lot more like a favor than actual concern for the safety of their charges. If they cared about the safety of their charges, the requirements for access to children should be stricter.

[2kids4me]

I have a suggestion, supermom. Please, go to a swim practice. It doesn't matter which team, but pick any of the rec teams. They all run practices the same. The coach stands at the edge of the pool and directs the kids on what they should do - how many laps of whatever, etc. Plus they might comment on stroke technique. Most likely there is anywhere from 5-8 kids per lane, with at least 5 coaches on deck. Swim coaches have NO intimate access to the kids. Now, if you have a neglectful parent who lets their child have time away from practice with the coach, well that's another story. That would be the parent's fault not the swim team's.

The only way you are going to see how things are is to go watch. The coaches do not have ANY one-on-one time with the kids at all. I think we all agree that this guy is a monster and he chose this job (as well as working at Red Robin), because he likes to be around kids. Just like Sandusky worked as a football coach.

You want the facility, team, whatever, to have a crystal ball. That would be wonderful, because then no one would be hurt. The reality is that child molesters are very slick and can evade detection for years.

If you are need information about swim practice times, just look on the team's website and I'm sure the times are listed. If you want a chaperone, let me know, and I would be happy to escort you and explain how things if you have questions while you are there.

[2kids4me]

One more thing - the "other" (not rival) teams were notified about that forum. Concerned parents were welcome to attend. I wouldn't have gone, because I look out for my kids and know that they are safe at swim practice. I honestly worry more about sleepovers and visitng their single uncles and cousins.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Allowing a teen boy to work as a volunteer and have access to children in the intimacy of a coaching profession, is wrong. Then I supposed teens shouldn't be allowed to babysit or serve as camp counselors.

Anyone who is allowed such access should have had time to grow up, make mistakes and lets see how they handle their lives. Molesting children isn't a mistake someone will learn from and when you hire that 22-year-old you will have no idea whether he/she has molested children and has gotten away with it.

Just like a person who is qualified to work in a day care center must be of age and have ECE credits.

The prerequisites for working with children should be much higher.

And the public Pool and park should be held liable if any families do come forward; because it is their ultimate responsibility to make sure they hired people of good repute. You're looking for guarantees that are simply impossible. Again, unless someone has been charged and convicted of molesting a child, how will you determine who these predators are?

A kid they knew fresh from high school and was student of theirs sounds a lot more like a favor than actual concern for the safety of their charges. If they cared about the safety of their charges, the requirements for access to children should be stricter. On the one hand you suggest hiring people who have a track record behind them and then you fault the Otters for hiring this coach based on their track record with him and their judgment of his character -- not knowing he was into molesting children. How can you fault them for not knowing what wasn't yet knowable?