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Changes Made to City of Columbia Summer Camp Program

After reports of sexual assault at a City of Columbia summer camp, News 19 asked what changes have been made.

In the summer of 2017, News 19 did an investigation on an alleged sexual assault of a five-year-old boy at a City of Columbia summer camp at their Lorick Park location.

In our investigation, we uncovered that a 16-year-old boy was accused of the crime and arrested. We also learned that the same teenager was accused of a sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl at the same park two months prior.

After our investigation, the City of Columbia fired three employees whose actions they said "likely contributed to the incident involving an unsupervised child at the Lorick Park summer camp program."

We reached out to the city about any changes that have been made since last year's summer program and they sent News 19 information about those changes.

First, the age range of children accepted into the summer camp program has changed. This year, the Parks and Recreation Department is accepting children ages 5 to 12. Last year they accepted children ages 6 to 12.

In our original investigation, we learned that according to city's policy at that time, the five-year-old boy who was allegedly sexually assaulted, wasn't supposed to at the camp because he was too young.

Second, the department has hired additional staff. that includes three Parks and Recreation District Coordinators. According to the city, their jobs will be to "provide oversight and supervise recreation division employees in charge of the recreation centers and neighborhood parks."

The city also hired a safety coordinator to plan, coordinate, implement, oversee and administer a safety compliance program. They will also ensuring all operations are in compliance with OSHA regulations and other city requirements.

Finally, the summer camp program runs from June 11 to Friday, August 10, 2018. Last year it ran from May 30 to August 11.

When we reached out to the City of Columbia about how often changes are made to the summer camp program, they responded by explaining that their procedures are reviewed annually.

For more information on the summer camps within the City of Columbia's Parks and Recreation Department, check out the link here.

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