There are eerily similar circumstances between these two facilities that committed grossly negligent acts to end the lives of two very young, beautiful children. 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 two parents who are former Pasadena City College teachers. Their daughter, a former Los Angles Times reporter, 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 court documents, trial transcripts and exhibits. According to additional admissions, transcripts and investigations by the American Red Cross, camp operators did not provide legitimate lifeguard training, despite putting children as young as three in their pool for decades.

Both children died cruel, grisly wholly preventable drownings due to grossly negligent, intentional acts by camp owner-operators.

Both facilities remained open after killing children.

Both facilities retained their employees involved in the deaths.

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

Counselors-lifeguards from both camps administered severely flawed rescue and CPR efforts, according to court documents, trial transcripts, exhibits and experts.

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 investigated the camp-owning family for five years during his graduate studies program in journalism. He unearthed an abundance of documents, transcripts, exhibits and attestations from former staffers that illustrated how the family lied 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.

The Summerkids director-owner immediately and aggressively attempted to cover up the facts and shift the blame to Roxie herself, according to court documents, trial transcripts, exhibits and experts. She wrote a series of erroneous emails to their large database about how Roxie died, she intentionally immediately removed Roxie’s parents Doug and Elena from all communication with no explanation or permission so they could not get the answers they desperately wanted. She also lied to major media that Doug and Elena demanded their privacy when all they wanted were answers. And, she did all of this while withholding their $3,000+ camp tuition. All of these allegations are supported by court documents, trial transcripts, exhibits and admissions.

Summerkids camp counselors have admitted to neglecting Roxie and to holding fraudulent lifeguard certifications. The camp family, primarily the camp director and her father were ultimately responsible for a scheme that fraudulently certified counselors as lifeguards and water safety instructors to pocket extra money that should have been spent on proper Red Cross training, according to court documents, trial transcripts, exhibits and the Red Cross investigation.

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 apparently demanded the silence of one minor counselor responsible for neglecting Roxie to death. Summerkids owner-father apparently demanded that the minor sign the NDA without her parents present. Defense counsel contended that they did not have to provide that document.

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

The defense attorneys for Roxie’s camp repeatedly attempted to bully and muzzle the Forbes family. They threatened Roxie’s mother Elena’s law career with provable lies in a shocking letter. They deployed another shocking letter and email that threatened Doug’s advocacy websites and efforts in an attempt to keep him quiet about the circumstances of Roxie’s agonizing death, how they ignored regulations, how they tried to muzzle Doug’s free speech and even 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 called about and emailed accounts of the camp-owning family’s intimidating, disturbing pattern of behavior over many years.

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

Soon after Roxie’s death, Summerkids former assistant director quit after a decade. The Summerkids director hired a replacement with no camp experience. Her LinkedIn recruitment ad for the job not-so-subtly shifted blame toward the former assistant camp director 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. The camp director-owner, however, said to media that Roxie’s death was the only serious safety incident in their history, as if even one preventable, traumatic 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.