Founder of StandUp for Kids Charged With Repeated Sexual Assaults
Richard Koca, founder of StandUp for Kids, has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of a child.
Richard Koca, Sr., the founder of a national charity for at-risk youth, has been charged in Aurora, Colorado with repeatedly sexually assaulting a child over a three year period, reports ABC News.
According to local news reports, Mr. Koca, 69, has been charged with seven felony counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust involving a pattern of abuse. Court records indicate the alleged abuse began in August 2009 and continued into August 2012.
Mr. Koca is the founder of the organization StandUp for Kids, an outreach program for homeless and at-risk youth.
A single victim has been identified, but given Mr. Koca’s long history of working with children, police say the possibility of finding more victims exists, reports the Denver Post.
Mr. Koca is a retired officer of the U.S. Navy, who has been stationed all over the world. Investigators found that during his time in Panama, Mr. Koca was the Scout Master for a Boy Scouts of America program and while stationed in England, he volunteered at an orphanage that has yet to be identified, police said. Police also said that Mr. Koca was involved in Explorer scout programs while stationed in San Diego.
Mr. Koca founded StandUp for Kids in 1990. In a statement on the organization’s website, Mr. Koca condemns child abuse and outlines the mission of the organization, which is to offer resources to homeless youth. Unsurprisingly, the organization’s website is currently disabled. The organization told Denver’s ABC News affiliate, “We don’t have sufficient information at this time to make a statement.”
StandUp for Kids is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and has at least 35 outreach programs in 18 states. The organization is run and staffed almost entirely by volunteers.
(via: ABC News, The Denver Post)
(Photo Credit: ABC News)
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I don’t know if the allegations are true, but these type of charges don’t just come out of thin air. Most allegations of sexual abuse turn out to be true b/c it’s just not something most kids, not matter how troubled, would lie about. And as a parent, while I appriciate such programs that help at risk youth, I always question who is directly working with the kids? Are they being properly screened and given criminal background checks if they are volunteering thier services? How much time are the adults having one on one time with the kids and where? At risk kids and thier families are particular targets for pedophiles to groom and later victimize. And if these allegations are true, it wouldn’t be the first time a pedophile opens up a charity to get acess to more future victims. You don’t have to think too far back to remember the Penn State scandal, Jerry Sandusky, and his charity, Second Mile…..