Former Ontario summer camp director accused of grooming, sexual assault in lawsuits

A private summer camp in Ontario and its former director are facing two lawsuits alleging sexual abuse dating back to the 1990s.

The lawsuits allege David Latimer, who until recently was a longtime director of Kilcoo Camp in Minden, Ont., sexually assaulted a camp attendee in the early 1990s and a young camp employee in the late 2000s.

The suits from the attendee and former staffer both accuse Latimer, 61, of grooming, manipulating and sexually assaulting the plaintiffs, while the camp is accused of failing to protect them.

“Latimer was in a special position of power, authority, and trust,” both lawsuits say. The plaintiffs, the suits claim, were “dependent on and uniquely vulnerable to Latimer.”

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Latimer’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kilcoo Camp said that upon learning of the civil lawsuits filed last week, it immediately appointed a new director and Latimer is no longer involved in the camp’s operations. The camp said it will co-operate with any investigation.

“While the claim names the Camp, these troubling allegations only involve the actions of the former director,” it wrote in a statement.

The plaintiffs are referred to in court documents as J. Doe No. 1 and J. Doe No. 2.

The first statement of claim says J. Doe No. 1 attended a week-long outdoor education program at Kilcoo Camp for two years in a row in the early 1990s with their mother, sister and the sister’s Grade 7-8 class.

The claim alleges that Latimer used his position at the camp to develop a close relationship with J. Doe No. 1, making the camper feel “special and valued.”

At the end of the plaintiff’s first week at the camp, the claim alleges Latimer offered to take them “somewhere special” on his golf cart and then sexually assaulted J. Doe No. 1 inside a garage.

The claim alleges that J. Doe No. 1 was then “manipulated by Latimer into believing that they were in a romantic relationship with Latimer.”

The lawsuit claims the assault resulted in psychological trauma, eventually causing the plaintiff “to lose their job, withdraw from their social network, and move back home with their parents.”

The second claim filed in court says J. Doe No. 2 first attended Kilcoo Camp between the ages of 12 and 14 in the early 2000s. Latimer developed a close relationship with her, which included giving her an “affectionate” nickname, the claim alleges.

By 2005, the plaintiff was a seasonal volunteer at the camp. In 2009, she became an employee at the camp.

The lawsuit alleges that Latimer continued to single out J. Doe No. 2 “for special treatment” during her time as a camp staffer. One day in 2009, when the plaintiff was about 19 years old, Latimer placed his hands on her hips and pushed his body against hers as she was privately undressing in the camp’s rec hut, the claim alleges.

That led to “a series of sexual assaults under the guise of a spiritual and romantic relationship” that took place both on and off Kilcoo Camp property and caused psychological trauma for the plaintiff, the suit alleges.

Both lawsuits are seeking damages from Latimer as well as the camp.

The lawsuits say that Kilcoo Camp predominantly operates as a private summer camp for boys aged eight to 16, but also offers outdoor education programs for public and high school students throughout the year.

On its website, Kilcoo Camp says it was founded in 1932 to be the “Maker of Men” and it “remains true today to its ethos and tradition of character and leadership development.”

The cost of a month-long summer session at the camp is currently listed as $5,900, plus HST.