Woodward Camp asks judge to dismiss sexual abuse lawsuit involving former gymnastics coach
An elite training facility sought Tuesday the dismissal of a federal lawsuit that accused the Penns Valley sports camp of improperly responding to allegations of sexual abuse carried out by a former coach.
Woodward Camp argued federal Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania should dismiss the lawsuit because the two-year statute of limitations expired.
State law allows those who were sexually abused while younger than 18 to bring a lawsuit until they’re 55, but the business argued the alleged conduct did not warrant an extended statute of limitations.
The former junior counselor who brought the lawsuit was 17 when former coach Nathaniel Singer pursued an intimate relationship with her, the lawsuit alleged.
She accused Singer of grooming her by sending unwanted photos of himself partially nude. He pursued the relationship with her so openly, her attorneys wrote, that other campers and staff were aware of the inappropriate behavior.
On the penultimate night of her stay at the camp, Singer pressured her into “inappropriate sexual contact,” the 20-page lawsuit filed in September alleged.
The camp rehired Singer each of the following three years even though he admitted to administrators that he had sexual contact with the woman, the suit alleged. At least one other camper said she was sexually assaulted by Singer during his following stints.
That teenager’s parents sued the camp and Singer in December. Singer was accused of groping and digitally penetrating her during a drill, while the camp’s administrators were accused of trying to dissuade her from reporting the abuse. The lawsuit is pending.
Singer was suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport — a center tasked with investigating sex-abuse claims in Olympic sports — for sexual misconduct in July 2020. He’s was ruled permanently ineligible in May to be a member of USA Gymnastics.
Singer, 26, of New England, was also charged criminally in April for his alleged sexual misconduct against the teenage gymnast who filed the first lawsuit. He’s charged with two felony counts of aggravated indecent assault, as well as two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault.
No trial date has been set. He remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
Woodward Camp discontinued in October their gymnastics programming at all of their locations. The business axed the programs because they “are not as complementary to the core of action sports,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.
In an email sent to gym owners and coaches — and obtained by the Centre Daily Times — the company wrote, in part, that gymnastics is “one sport where we have found it is not possible to have consistent sport leadership.”
In an email, the spokesperson further described the change as “purely a business decision.”