A man has been arrested and charged with ‘several crimes’, after police said he molested several children under the age of 12 in a summer camp in Atlanta.
Atlanta Police Lieutenant Felicia Claxton, Commander of the Department’s Special Victims Unit, said at a press conference on Friday that the alleged abuse took place between 2016 and 2018 while children were visiting a camp in the West End Family Life and Community Center.
“This case is heartbreaking because the people entrusted to protect children, our most vulnerable population, have violated their trust and harmed innocent children,” she said.
Authorities began investigating the allegations this year after a parent reported the incident to Atlanta police. A police report obtained by the NBC affiliate WXIA shows that at least one victim was a girl under the age of 10 who told her mother that she had been molested by a man in his 50s during the summer camp. . Claxton did not specify the total number of victims identified.
She said the man who was arrested worked in the camp where the alleged abuse took place, but that he did not reveal his identity “due to the sensitivity of the investigation and to maintain the integrity of the investigation. . ” Claxton also declined to disclose details of his charges.
Authorities hope they have released enough information to encourage more possible victims or witnesses to come forward while they investigate further, she said.
The case in Atlanta comes on the heels of New York authorities announcing charges against a primary school principal accused of sexually abusing at least nine boys during school hours. Kirk Ashton, principal of Northwood Elementary School in Hilton, about 20 miles northwest of Rochester, is charged with several counts of first-degree sex abuse, second-degree sexual activity against a child and endangering the welfare of a child, the Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley announced at a Thursday press conference.
According to inmates, Ashton was arrested Wednesday night and was detained this morning. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Greek city court, and bail was set at $ 500,000 in cash or $ 1 million.
