Victim of summer camp sexual abuse awarded $7.5M nearly 50 years later

TACOMA, Wash. - A Pierce County man was awarded $7.5 million nearly five decades after he was sexually abused at a YMCA summer camp in Gig Harbor.

The victim, identified in court documents as "T.B.", says he was sexually abused at Camp Seymour, a YMCA-operated summer camp in Gig Harbor. T.B. alleges he was abused several times from 1976 to 1979 by camp counselors Ken Baines and Randy Tollefson.

Now 56, T.B. was around eight years old when the abuse occurred, and many cases of child abuse have been traced back to Camp Seymour in decades past.

One of T.B.'s accused abusers, Randy Tollefson, was eventually sentenced to 16 years in prison for child sex crimes, then afterward was sent to Washington's facility for sexually violent predators on McNeil Island.

In 2018, another victim, "P.N.", came forward with allegations of sexual abuse at the camp. He said YMCA knew the abuse was happening and failed to stop it.

For their part, the YMCA admitted it was responsible for the abuse. The organization says it has required criminal background checks on all staffers for many years now, as well as screening everyone through a national sex offender registry.

"This is a powerful and consequential verdict. The jury heard the devastating impacts of the abuse on T.B.’s life, and their verdict reflects the severity of the harm he suffered," said T.B.'s attorney, Michael Pfau. "T.B. had to overcome a lot in his life and this result is affirmation that our legal system can provide justice and accountability for childhood sexual abuse survivors."

Camp Seymour was established in 1907.