HOUSTON – A Houston family is suing a Texas summer camp for boys after a counselor sexually assaulted their son repeatedly.
The lawsuit accuses Camp La Junta, in Hunt, Texas, and Blake Smith, one of its owners, of negligence and defamation.
The victim attended the camp in the summer of 2009 and, by the second day, was being subjected to groping at the hands of Matthew Bovee, his camp counselor, according to the lawsuit.
Bovee pled guilty in connection to the case in 2011 and is serving a nine year prison sentence.
However, Bob Wynne, the family's attorney, said the camp and its operators did not investigate Bovee when two assistant counselors reported his inappropriate behavior.
"Essentially, what we really want is justice for an 11-year-old boy who was put in a situation he should never been in and when he tried to voice his complaints, was essentially silence," said Wynne.
The lawsuit claims the camper was molested, groped, and forced to sleep in bed with Bovee.
The lawsuit also claims the boy was forced to take as many as six showers a day. When the child stepped out of the shower, Bovee would conduct a "shower check" and touched the boy's privates.
"It's not allegation. It's proven fact. The camp counselors plead guilty," said Wynee. "Two junior counselors reported Mr. Bovee's shower checks to the camp administration and they failed to do anything, failed to investigate or interview any of the campers."
Smith declined to comment on the lawsuit.