His mother knew something was wrong when she picked up her seven-year-old son from summer camp on the afternoon of August 11.
He was afraid to say what was bothering him — he’d been warned “not to tell his mommy or daddy what happened,” Plymouth police reported.
But the child eventually told his mother – and later the police – that an employee of a camp run by the Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth had taken photos of him with his shorts down, according to a police report.
Later, in an interview conducted by a special sex abuse expert working for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, the boy disclosed that the alleged abuse went further — that the adult had touched his “privates” four times, police said.
The club immediately placed the employee, Bradley Collins, 20, of East Bridgewater, on leave without pay. Collins, a hall monitor and art teacher, has denied doing anything wrong. He could not be reached for comment.
On his Facebook page, which includes pictures of some of his artwork, Collins praised the Boys & Girls Club, writing that he was “blessed to have such an amazing job and amazing people to work with. You guys have been nothing but awesome. I look forward to what the future brings us,” he posted in February.
Last Thursday, Plymouth police sought criminal charges against him in Plymouth District Court. Clerk magistrate Adam Baler issued complaints for indecent assault and battery on a child, photographing intimate parts of a child, and posing a child in the nude.
Collins was not immediately notified of the charges, court records show, and it was unclear when he would make a court appearance.
Complaints were also filed with the state Department of Children and Families, which investigates allegations of child abuse or neglect.
When police questioned him, Collins at first denied photographing the child.
After officers told him they would be able to find deleted photos on his phone, he allegedly conceded he may have taken pictures of the boy, but they were innocent and taken to show to the club’s director of operations, Christine Murray.
Murray, who was also interviewed by police, said that Collins started working as a volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club on Resnik Road in October 2023 and did such a good job that he was offered a staff position a year later.
She said he worked mostly as a hall monitor but would often help in art classes.
The club’s general policy is that an employee and a student should not be alone, she told police.
But in these alleged incidents, Collins was sometimes alone with the child, or in a room where other children were present, but preoccupied, according to police.
The boy told the special interviewer, Courtney Wills of the DA’s office, that the abuse started after he asked Collins for a series of cartoon drawings that he thought were “cool.”
He agreed not to tell his parents anything because he really wanted the drawings, he told Wills.
He asked whether Collins would be going to jail. That would make him sad, the boy told the interviewer, “because he was my best buddy.”
Boys & Girls Club executive director Garreth J. Lynch said the club took quick action after learning of the allegations.
“All appropriate authorities were informed immediately after we received the complaint and we are cooperating fully,” he told the Plymouth Independent in an email.
All employees, board members, and volunteers are background checked annually, he said. And the club conducts criminal, sex offender and DCF record checks before any employee or volunteer is cleared to work at the club.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.