144 replies to this topic

[HappyDaisy]

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.

You took the words out of my mouth 2kids4me! We also swim for another rec team in town, and I believe they informed parents as soon as they could. I would have felt comfortable attending the forum but chose not to. However, my husband and I took this opportunity to talk to our kids about what happened.

[supermom]

Boycott the pools!

These swim moms just don't want the costs of their childrens swim teams to go up by requiring educated and fully vested employees running the parks and rec services. If thats the case then get out of the Parks!

[4thgenFolsomite]

Boycott the pools!

These swim moms just don't want the costs of their childrens swim teams to go up by requiring educated and fully vested employees running the parks and rec services. If thats the case then get out of the Parks!

wait a second. parks and rec in this city are very well run. that is a great city department that has continued to provide outstanding programs for our community despite having very deep budget and staff cuts.

the otters and other swim teams are separate groups that contract with the city (in essence rent the city facility) so they can have their swim groups meet there. a swim teamis not a parks and rec service. same thing with the baseball teams that use the ball fields.

the only thing this whole sick episode has to do with the swim teams is that the guy happened to be a coach.

[FolsomEJ]

I'm fairly sure she's just trolling us all now. There is no way someone can *really* be this thick, uninformed and so sure of themselves and their own superior judgement. Wait for it...the next call will be to boycott Folsom itself.

Don't feed the trolls.

[supermom]

wait a second. parks and rec in this city are very well run. that is a great city department that has continued to provide outstanding programs for our community despite having very deep budget and staff cuts.

the otters and other swim teams are separate groups that contract with the city (in essence rent the city facility) so they can have their swim groups meet there. a swim teamis not a parks and rec service. same thing with the baseball teams that use the ball fields.

the only thing this whole sick episode has to do with the swim teams is that the guy happened to be a coach.

Thoses budget cuts could very well be the reason this kid was not discovered, a long time ago. For years their budget for staffing has been undercut, because of the cities financial problems.

The problem with not paying full price for a full serivce is that you get the kind of service that later you regret. Or you have to redo at great expense. I am so very happy you think that parks and rec is a great department. That doesn't change the fact that a pervert was allowed to work on one of their facilites for several years undetected. And the city is respnsible for that; regardless of whether you like it or not.

And when it comes to the saftey of minors, I absolutely think that all positions sanctioned by the city should be forced to have these requirements. It weeds out the bad guys. It forces them to live a life and then we have a chance of seeing behavioral problems.

You are right. Perverts will try to ingratiate themselves into the community. Which is why we should be even more strict in how we select who has direct contact with our kids.

Its so danged funny how so many people were up in arms about chicken lifestyles a few years ago. The chickens need more room. They need better cages. They shouldn't be force fed. They should be allowed to exercise. So we made laws to protect chickens from egg to stew pot.

Yet our very own flesh and blood, we would rather turn our backs and flinch at the idea of protecting them from wolves in our ranks because of what? Indignation? Claiming it could never happen? Claiming we would never have found out except by accident so it's not worth being more cautious. Complaining of the cost of services if we raised the prerequisites of people allowed to work in these jobs with not just coaching skills, but proof of child development courses and full federal background checks? Are yo really telling me that your resistance to these recommendations is that objectionable? Those sports teams may be contractors, but the city is liable for abuses if those teams abusers hurting kids. How much would you like to compensate the children for--from the cities coffers? 1 M dollars for each child that is abused? Maybe 10 M dollars if the abuse was long term? Wait a second, maybe it would behoove the city to ban young people who do not have outside experience and or time to prove character, access to our children. I want better safeguards in place. You have to go through more hoops to buy a car than to get a job as a coach or lifeguard. How sick is that? Our children deserve better.

What about the children he had plenty of time to groom into submissiveness? They're out there. He had too many opportunities for fertilizing a garden. You are seriously misguided if you think he hasn't touched any children. Sure they haven't come forward yet. Why is that? Because for years he had access to them and they know him?

If budget and costs are keeping the parks from doing the right thing and forcing all contracts and interests to have better prerequisites then I say shut the pool until the costs are manageable. Yeah sure, it stinks, but at least WE wont raise anymore perverts in our own city pool. And then turn them loose on our children.

[swmr545]

We knew Eric, and like I said, he spent time with my niece and nephew (never alone). We had no idea or inkling that he was a pedophile.

Unless there is a prior (and recorded) history, there is no way of knowing who a person really is. Shutting down the pool will not help all that much, since there are other avenues for a pedophile to gain access to kids. Remember the story a few months back about the camp counselor that was arrested for molesting kids?

Are you advocating shutting down all kids activities to ensure the safety of kids? Do away with football because of Sandusky, end the Boy Scouts because of the latest news of a scout leader, end all summer camps, swim programs, and hell, since there are teachers that are molesting kids we should shut down K-12 schools.

You cannot have an absolute approach to something like this, and react in a way that doesn't help kids feel smarter. Take this opportunity to talk to your children, tell them what is appropriate when interacting with an adult, and to know that it is safe for them to come and talk to you.

[2kids4me]

I'm fairly sure she's just trolling us all now. There is no way someone can *really* be this thick, uninformed and so sure of themselves and their own superior judgement. Wait for it...the next call will be to boycott Folsom itself.

Don't feed the trolls.

Yup! Here it is. Her last posts further proved how ignorant she is, so I'm done arguing. Certainly thinking swim team is cheap is amusing on it's own!

I think the takeaway from this whole situation is that Eric seemed like a great guy, and that just means he was doing a good job. Child predators do what they can to fully immerse themelves into childrens' lives. If we suspected him, and he seemed like a molester, we never would have trusted him, and he'd never get what he wanted. Since that's the case, we parents need to be hypervigilant and not give anyone access to our kids. The harder we try, the better our chances. Also, there needs to be MUCH stiffer penalties for molesters. I hope he NEVER gets out of prison.

I do wonder if anyone had any "feelings" about Eric over the years. I know he was gay (which doesn't matter to me), but I wonder if people who may have been suspicious, attributed it to his sexuality, and pushed down their instincts for fear that they were reacting to his sexuality, instead of the pervertedness.

[supermom]

I am advocating all Park activities be shut down until the Parks and Recs meet the Federal CDC guidelines for employees, volunteers, and contractors.

The requirements address the claims that you don't or wont know about teenagers from just a criminal background check. Most places that HIRE people involved in youth interaction will also require psychological testing.

Yes, I am advocating closing all facilities down until the city takes a stand on healthy and proactive requirements.

Where is their documented training and testing for child abuse for each employee? Why are the children not required to also take a class on child abuse, like many private organizations require?

The city has not implemented these requirements because they fear it will cost too much or because they fear families will balk.

Any arguments against this are merely ignorant people not paying attention to federal and state laws in requirements of running a youth organization. The city has allowed their parks and rec department to allow organizations and contractors to run amok of these policies.

Yes, a federal background check is costly. Yes a federal background check is ore intensive than a criminal check. Yes there are psychological tests that can be administered to weed candidates out. Yes, there are many different approaches to denying bad apples access to our children. Yes the city is ultimately responsible, as former appeal claims state the organization must show proof of training, and screening routinely as long as an employee has direct contact with the minor. But hiring someone who has successfully passed one is more than likely going to be able to get another job after the season is over, and even encourage them to come back the following year. Start these programs 120 days prior to needing the youth group employees

[ducky]

Supermom, I'm not sure about your reasoning on this one.

Boycotting the pool makes no sense.

First of all, when my children took swim lessons there, I stayed and watched the entire lesson. In fact, I think it was required by the parks and rec that parents stay. I think that is a great policy. If a potty break or something is required where the child is taken away from the pool the parent can handle it. It also doesn't put the swim instructor in the position of being alone with a child out of sight.

Second, when my children were smaller and I brought them to the aquatic center they never left my sight. I wouldn't have cared how much vetting the parks & rec did. Protecting my child is my responsibility. Remember, they don't vet the guests to the center. How do we know one of those adults in the pool isn't a monster? Should we do a background check on every person entering the facility to swim? How about tennis camp; engineering camp; international soccer camp; basketball camp; kids sewing camp?

Finally, I realize a swim team is a little different. You get to know the people a lot better than you might a swim instructor that you only see for an hour or so for a few weeks. Everybody seemed to like this young man and many of them had known him for years. He slipped past many parents' radar, which to me is more accurate than any background check.

I'm not sure what process you think would have weeded him out. Unfortunately, these predators seem to be very good at deception. It seems you are going for 100 percent assurance that nobody bad could slip through and I think we all know that is impossible no matter how much money we throw at the problem.

This whole thing is sickening and I understand the outrage at what this young man has done, but I don't see it as the parks & rec's fault. We don't even know exactly how long they knew or what they were instructed to do once law enforcement was involved.

Add edit: Also, I don't like the idea of my child being required to take a child abuse class. Please leave something for me to decide when and how I will talk to them about that. I'm tired of the government automatically assuming I'm a negligent parent and unable to raise my child in an appropriate way.

[olivia]

I am advocating all Park activities be shut down until the Parks and Recs meet the Federal CDC guidelines for employees, volunteers, and contractors.

The requirements address the claims that you don't or wont know about teenagers from just a criminal background check. Most places that HIRE people involved in youth interaction will also require psychological testing.

Yes, I am advocating closing all facilities down until the city takes a stand on healthy and proactive requirements.

Where is their documented training and testing for child abuse for each employee? Why are the children not required to also take a class on child abuse, like many private organizations require?

The city has not implemented these requirements because they fear it will cost too much or because they fear families will balk.

Any arguments against this are merely ignorant people not paying attention to federal and state laws in requirements of running a youth organization. The city has allowed their parks and rec department to allow organizations and contractors to run amok of these policies.

Yes, a federal background check is costly. Yes a federal background check is ore intensive than a criminal check. Yes there are psychological tests that can be administered to weed candidates out. Yes, there are many different approaches to denying bad apples access to our children. Yes the city is ultimately responsible, as former appeal claims state the organization must show proof of training, and screening routinely as long as an employee has direct contact with the minor. But hiring someone who has successfully passed one is more than likely going to be able to get another job after the season is over, and even encourage them to come back the following year. Start these programs 120 days prior to needing the youth group employees

As an teacher w/17 yrs experience in several districts in both northern and southern CA, I absolutely disagree with the statement re: any requirement of PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING required for anyone "involved in youth interaction." You simply do not know what you are talking about.

[25or6to4]

I am advocating all Park activities be shut down until the Parks and Recs meet the Federal CDC guidelines for employees, volunteers, and contractors.

The requirements address the claims that you don't or wont know about teenagers from just a criminal background check. Most places that HIRE people involved in youth interaction will also require psychological testing.

Yes, I am advocating closing all facilities down until the city takes a stand on healthy and proactive requirements.

Where is their documented training and testing for child abuse for each employee? Why are the children not required to also take a class on child abuse, like many private organizations require?

The city has not implemented these requirements because they fear it will cost too much or because they fear families will balk.

Any arguments against this are merely ignorant people not paying attention to federal and state laws in requirements of running a youth organization. The city has allowed their parks and rec department to allow organizations and contractors to run amok of these policies.

Yes, a federal background check is costly. Yes a federal background check is ore intensive than a criminal check. Yes there are psychological tests that can be administered to weed candidates out. Yes, there are many different approaches to denying bad apples access to our children. Yes the city is ultimately responsible, as former appeal claims state the organization must show proof of training, and screening routinely as long as an employee has direct contact with the minor. But hiring someone who has successfully passed one is more than likely going to be able to get another job after the season is over, and even encourage them to come back the following year. Start these programs 120 days prior to needing the youth group employees

Supermom,

You may want to get your facts straight before making blanket accusations. "The Folsom Sea Otters is an entirely volunteer-run organization." That was cut & pasted from their website. They are not city employees who work for Parks & Rec. They are a seperate entity. Visit their website if you want to learn more. But, STOP blaming the City and the Parks & Rec for something that is completely out of their control and in no way is their fault.

Personally, I think Eric Johnston deserves the full punishment of the law for preying on children and possessing child pornography. But the Parks & Rec is not responsible and shouldn't be blamed for this.

[supermom]

Supermom,

You may want to get your facts straight before making blanket accusations. "The Folsom Sea Otters is an entirely volunteer-run organization." That was cut & pasted from their website. They are not city employees who work for Parks & Rec. They are a seperate entity. Visit their website if you want to learn more. But, STOP blaming the City and the Parks & Rec for something that is completely out of their control and in no way is their fault.

Personally, I think Eric Johnston deserves the full punishment of the law for preying on children and possessing child pornography. But the Parks & Rec is not responsible and shouldn't be blamed for this.

Wow, go back and learn how to read, I never said they are parks employess. I said they are contracted to use the parks. However, by law, any volunteer sanctioned by an organization --for legal purposes, is considered an employee-even though they are in an unpaid position. They can be held liable for those persons actions within their organization. AND the parks that hold a contract with them can be held liable if harm befalls a minor and they knowingly committed criminal negligence in their inactions to prevent or cause the harm.

The Parks can be sued by the guardian of any child who steps forward and was harmed by this little monster, if he interacted with the child at the park, and the otters organization can be sued if he used his influence as their coach to gain access to that child, particularly if any "harm" happened at a place that is sanctioned as one of the organizations sanctioned activities.

Olivia---you simply have no idea what I know. Or how I come to know what is by law, what is recommended and what is shamefully ignored because of costs, at the expense of too many being harmed by people like Eric.

I know exactly what I'm talking about.

[2kids4me]

Hmmm, are you Eric's mother? And you are looking for someone else to blame?

Of course I don't believe this, but you are really sounding like those sue-happy people who blame everyone except for those responsible.