These similarities between the two facilities that killed young children are eerie. However, parents should be keenly aware that the vast majority of camps that are caught abusing, neglecting, even killing children follow an eerily similar public relations-driven “script” that obfuscates facts and deflects responsibility.

Yoni Gottesman attended a private summer camp at Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club in greater Santa Barbara, California, August of 2005. Roxie Forbes attended a private summer camp named Summerkids in Altadena, California, June of 2019. The camp was founded by Joseph and Maria DiMassa. Their daughter Cara took became Camp Director in 2014.

Yoni’s camp allegedly gave him a swim test, determined he was not a fully capable swimmer and relegated him to hold on to the side of the pool. Roxie’s camp allegedly gave her a swim test and determined she was a non-swimmer and relegated her to the steps area of their small pool.

Both camps claimed their pool facility was safe.

Both camps claimed they had well-trained lifeguards. Summerkids Camp fraudulently certified its counselors as lifeguards, according to an abundance of evidence and admissions. According to additional interviews and documents, former Summerkids contracted employees and counselors said that the camp never provided legitimate lifeguard training, despite putting children as young as three in their pool for decades.

Both children were killed by wholly preventable drownings due to gross negligence.

Both facilities remained open after killing children.

Both facilities retained their employees.

Counselors-lifeguards ignored Yoni drowning for at least eight minutes. Counselor-lifeguards apparently ignored Roxie drowning and floating dead for no fewer than five minutes and perhaps 10 minutes, according to experts.

Counselors-lifeguards from both camps administered flawed rescue and CPR efforts, according to documents and admissions.

Both camps delayed calling 911 according to records provided by first responders.

After both drowning deaths, the State of California Department of Social Services investigated the camps.

Both camps were allegedly co-mingling personal and business assets, attempting to bury wealth.

According to Yoni’s family’s attorney, the facility “knowingly took shortcuts, failed to properly train staff, and utterly ignored the need to implement basic safety protocols.”

Roxie’s father, the Plaintiff, investigated the DiMassas for five years during his graduate studies prgram in in journalism. He proffered a nearly identical explanation in terms of the DiMassa family lying to thousands of parents about training, certifications and the cause of Roxie’s death.

Yoni’s facility director aggressively attempted to cover up the facts and shift the blame to his own employees.

Cara DiMassa immediately and aggressively attempted to cover up the facts and shift the blame to Roxie herself. She wrote a series of erroneous emails to their large database, removed Roxie’s parents Doug and Elena from the parent database without permission and, while withholding their $3,000+ camp tuition, continued to deny any accountability.

Cara DiMassa’s camp counselors have admitted to neglecting Roxie and to holding fraudulent lifeguard certifications. Cara DiMassa apparently orchestrated the scheme with a fake lifeguard instructor, according to publicly available documents.

Both facilities withheld vital information related to the preventable drownings that occurred due to gross negligence. Yoni’s facility failed to turn over the video of the drowning. Roxie’s facility has withheld numerous documents, including a non-disclosure agreement that allegedly demanded the silence of one minor counselor allegedly responsible for neglecting Roxie to death. Joseph DiMassa apparently demanded that the minor sign the NDA without her parents present. Defense counsel contends that they do not have to provide that document because it is “work product,” an erroneous argument.

Yoni’s facility baselessly tried to disqualify his parents’ attorney.

The defense attorneys for Roxie’s camp repeatedly attempted to bully the Forbes family and even baselessly jeopardized Roxie’s mother Elena’s career in an attempt to keep them quiet about the preventable death, ignoring regulations, free speech and Prior Restraint laws that protect victims’ rights.

The same attorney and her camp clients have forced Roxie’s parents to confront the careless indifference toward personal freedoms, truths and facts. Numerous persons previously associated with camp’s operation have delivered accounts of the DiMassa’s intimidating, disturbing pattern of behavior over the years.

Soon after Yoni’s death, the facility changed management.

Soon after Roxie’s death, Summerkids former assistant director Jaimi Harrison camp quit after a decade. Cara DiMassa hired a replacement with no camp experience. Her LinkedIn recruitment ad for the job not-so-subtly shifted blame toward Harrison and away from herself.

Other wholly preventable safety incidents occurred at Yoni’s facility and the sister facility.

Other preventable safety incidents occurred at Summerkids, including a very serious child injury only weeks after Roxie’s death. Cara DiMassa, however, said to media that Roxie’s death was the only serious safety incident in their history, as if one preventable death should be acceptable to any parent. Summerkids sent at least eight children to the hospital during a span of roughly 5 years, according to EMS reports and admissions.