(Sacramento, CA) – On behalf of plaintiffs Tim Anderson, Adam Barsanti, and John Doe 7066, Greenberg Gross LLP and its Fight for Survivors practice group, along with Jeff Anderson and Associates, filed two childhood sexual lawsuits in Sacramento Superior Court against Sacramento City College (“SCC”) Baseball Camps, Los Rios Community College District (“Los Rios CCD”), Mark Port, and other John Doe defendants.
The lawsuits allege that Mark Port used his access and position of authority as a mentor and baseball coach to groom and sexually abuse multiple young boys who attended summer baseball camps at Sacramento City College during the 1980s and 1990s. Disturbingly, the lawsuits further allege that the institutional defendants turned a blind eye to countless red flags evident in a sexual predator’s behavior for years.
For example, SCC Baseball Camps and Los Rios CCD could have prevented the abuse if they had simply bothered to conduct a background check and investigate Port’s criminal history – a history that would have revealed he had been arrested for repeatedly committing indecent exposure with young boys.
When the grooming and abuse of minors was brought to the attention of those in charge of SCC Baseball Camps, including the Head Coach, they failed to report the childhood sexual abuse to law enforcement or other appropriate authorities. Instead, SCC Baseball Camps and Los Rios CCD allowed Port to quietly leave the employ of SCC and SCC Baseball Camps, thereby covering up Port’s sexual abuse and leaving Port free to continue abusing minors until he was finally arrested and convicted in 2003.
Greenberg Gross partner Brian Williams commented on the impact of the case:
“It makes you sick to your stomach knowing that the abuse of innocent children could have been prevented if the adults in charge had not completely abdicated their moral, legal, and ethical responsibilities. Thanks to the bravery of the plaintiffs, this lawsuit will help shed light on the role that SCC Baseball Camps and Los Rios CCD played in allowing Port’s pattern of sexual abuse to recur, and hopefully, ensure that history never repeats itself.”
Linked and Related News Coverage:
- Years after a Sacramento baseball coach went to prison for sex abuse, his players are suing
December 18, 2022 | The Sacramento Bee - They are suing over sexual abuse by their Sacramento baseball coach. Hear their stories [Video]
December 18, 2022 | The Sacramento Bee
Greenberg Gross Contacts
Brian Williams: 949.383.2780 (o)
Daniel Cha: 949.383-2795 (o)
