(AP) A lawyer for a 12-year-old girl said Friday that she was raped in a YMCA sauna by a day camp counselor, became pregnant and contracted a sexually transmitted disease.
The girl was assaulted twice by the 17-year-old camp counselor last July when she was 11, attorney John Elmore said. She gave birth to a son in March.
The family's civil lawsuit in state Supreme Court claims the Y was negligent, especially because the second assault was witnessed and reported by a co-worker, who worked as a lifeguard.
"The lifeguard reported it to management. The management did not report it to police," said Elmore, who didn't name the girl. "They believed the perpetrator, who claimed he didn't do it."
A statement from the YMCA to WIVB-TV, which first reported the case, said an employee was removed because of inappropriate conduct between a camper and the worker.
"There was no report of rape or pregnancy to the YMCA until late April 2011 upon the arrival of a summons from the law firm," the statement said.
The YMCA didn't immediately return a message left after hours Friday.
Elmore said a criminal case is pending against the counselor, whom he declined to identify. He referred a reporter to the Erie County district attorney's office, which didn't return a message left after 5 p.m. Friday, when the WIVB report on the lawsuit aired.
Elmore said the girl's parents were only told by the Y that there had been an incident but did not know it involved sexual contact.
"Her mother did not know she was pregnant until December, when she noticed her stomach was large," the attorney said.
Elmore said the girl went months without prenatal care and contracted a sexually transmitted disease, which also went untreated.
*This is a Hot "A** Mess! A twelve year old gets raped and the "Y" basically says nothing happened! That is not right! It seems to me like, the "Y" is try to protect their image more so than the girl who is only twelve. Even if their was no report of a pregancy, it doesnt mean the girl wasn't raped. She was probably scared to tell anyone, especially her parents. The "Y" should be ashamed of themselves and the parents should sue the pants off of them for failing to protect their daughter!*
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